Along The Broken Road
by nebula2
Summary: While falling in love with each other, Burt and Carole are reminded that it's not just the two of them involved in this relationship. Can their love survive the turmoil created by two very different teenagers who are both use to being an only child? Together the four of them must learn about one another and what it means to be family. Picks up during the episode "Theatricality".
1. Careless Words

**_AN: So I started this story last November for National Novel Writing Month. I've got quite a bit of it written and hope to update on a regular week basis while I finish it. My goal is to tell the story of the Hudmels between "Theatricality" and "Furt" as we got so little of them in the show. I think the events of "Theatricality" influenced Burt and Carole's relationship and we didn't see any of that in the show. I hope that this story does that untold story justice._**

**_This story picks up directly after the basement scene in "Theatricality" and I am trying to stay true to canon as time progresses while adding missing things into the storyline we already know. _**

**_Hope you enjoy!_**

**_Thanks to supergirl102 with her help with editing this! I appreciate it!_**

_Disclaimer: Glee and it's characters do not belong to me and this story is for entertainment purposes only._

* * *

Even though he had left the basement, Burt could still see the hurt in his son's eyes clearly. The word Finn had used still echoed in his mind, it was the tears on Kurt's face that broke his heart. There was nothing in the world that he wanted more than to protect his son, and tonight he felt that he had failed, and in his own home at that. As much as he loved Carole, he wouldn't take the chance of having Kurt in that position again. He didn't want to lose Carole over this, but right then he didn't see anyway around it as he wasn't about to let Finn back in the house.

Reaching the kitchen, Burt stood in the doorway and glanced around the room. He needed something to do to try calming his racing thoughts. He thought about retreating to the garage but he wanted to be here when Carole got home from work. Throwing Finn out had been his decision and he wasn't about to leave Kurt here to explain anything to her. Not to mention he didn't want Carole thinking that he was running to the garage in an effort to avoid her. He had never been a man that avoided anything. He had made a decision and he would face up to the consequences of that decision, whatever they may be.

Walking over to the cabinets under the counter, Burt made the decision to start dinner. Though Kurt was usually the one to cook the evening meal, when they didn't do it together, there were a few meals that Burt could manage on his own and one of those was spaghetti.

Probably making more noise than was necessary, Burt found a pot and pan to cook in. Somehow the clanging of metal and the slamming of doors helped ease the frustration he was feeling. He had the water on the stove heating when he heard the front door open. Not sure he could keep a hold of his temper if it was Finn sneaking back into the house, though he wasn't sure where the teenager had even gotten to after leaving the basement, Burt continued with his dinner preparations. As he unwrapped the frozen lump of hamburger and let it fall onto a plate, he heard footsteps coming toward the kitchen.

~_Definitely not Finn then_, ~ Burt thought to himself, doubting that the teenager would come to face him again so soon after the altercation. Mentally he tried to prepare himself for facing Carole. There was no doubt in his mind that she would be upset with his decision - after all he had just kicked her son out of the house and he knew that Carole was as fiercely protective over Finn as he was of Kurt. Not that he expected anything less from her, though he did wonder if she had already talked to Finn. Had the teenager made him out to be more of a villain than the situation called for.

Eyes focused on his task, Burt picked up the plate and headed for the microwave to thaw the meat out. The buttons chirped their activation as he pushed the necessary ones to activate the defrost cycle. The light inside came on, and the microwave hummed to life as he heard the footsteps come to a stop. Still he didn't turn around as he braced himself for Carole's anger.

"Burt, what is going on?"Carole asked.

Burt listened to the tone of his girlfriend's voice. To him, she sounded hurt and confused but not angry. ~_At least not yet, ~ _Burt added silently as he slowly turned around. He had no doubt that the anger would come once she found out what happened. What he wasn't sure of was who that anger would be directed at. Would she be angry at him or Finn or just the situation in general? Would Finn's choice of words even bother her at all?

Burt took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to get his emotions out of control before responding to the question. He wasn't mad at Carole and showing that emotion to her would not help the situation at all. Turning around slowly, he leaned back against the counter. "Where should I begin?" he asked, not knowing if she had talked to Finn yet or what the teenager might have told her. He inwardly cringed at the edge he heard in his voice.

"Perhaps by explaining to me what Finn wasn't able to?" She asked, gesturing in the direction of the front steps. "I come home to find him sitting out on the front steps looking miserable. When I asked him what, he was doing there, all he would tell me was that you had kicked him out of the house but he wouldn't tell me why, just that I should probably talk to you."

Burt felt relief flood through him. Finn could have easily told Carole his side of the story first and have her on his side before Burt even had a chance to speak. Before he had a chance to salvage his relationship with her. As angry as he was at Finn right now for his choice of words, he still loved Carole, and cared about her son. He didn't want to lose the happiness that he had found with her and hoped that somehow they would be able to work their way past this whole situation. To do that, But knew that this couldn't be matter of who was at fault in the situation - everyone had their roles in the altercation. The best he could do was explain what had happened and try to make her understand why he had taken the actions that he had.

So that is what Burt began to do. He started with telling her that he had heard raised voices in the basement and had gone to see what was going on. Told her about the word that Finn had used, careful to keep it in the same context that it had been used in. Still, given that the word 'faggy' had been used to describe things that Kurt had chosen to redecorate the room in, which Burt had to admit weren't what a typical teenage boy would choose, was a reflection on his son. There was no way around that, even if Carole didn't choose to see it that way. Burt wasn't about to let something like that slide. He loved Kurt, and he would do anything he could to protect him, be it from hurt feelings or physically being hurt. Burt knew he had already failed in that plenty of times, just like he had tonight, but he wouldn't sit by and give the situation a chance to happen a second time.

"I may not be able to protect Kurt out there all of the time," Burt finished, his voice raising in spite of his efforts to control it, as he waved a hand toward the front yard, "but I should be able to in my own home and I will do whatever is necessary to do just that. Kurt deserves to have a place where he can feel safe! A place that he can escape the cruelty of this world! A place where he doesn't have to deal with the narrow-minded and hateful things that people are going to say and do to him because of who he is!"

"I know," Carole said simply, not allowing Burt's show of emotion to affect her. She knew he wasn't mad at her and that his reaction stemmed from the love that any parent had for their child. Even though she thought he was overreacting to the situation, she wasn't going to condemn him for that. Put in the same situation, Carole knew that she would protect Kurt almost as vehemently if she had witnessed the situation. Burt had already told her about some of the things that Kurt had already gone through that Burt felt he had failed to protect her from. She also knew that Kurt was going to face even more of that in his lifetime, and was ashamed to know that her son had participated in something like that, not matter what the circumstances were. In the short time that she had known him, Carole had come to think of Kurt as almost a second son.

"I get that they won't always see things eye-to-eye," Burt continued, not giving Carole a chance to add anything else. "I grew up with two brothers and yeah we argued and teased one another but we also respected one another. If anyone outside our family tried to mess with one of us, the other two were always right there to back him up. That's what I was hoping our two sons would find but that isn't what I witnessed down there."

"Something like that isn't going to happen overnight. The situation is new to all of us. All of us are going to go through an adjustment period," Carole said, trying to be the voice of reason. She hadn't love anyone like she did Burt and Kurt since her husband had died and she didn't want to lose what she had found.

"So you think, I'm overreacting?"

"I never said that," Carole responded, knowing that she had to tread carefully to keep this situation from getting out of hand. Though he wasn't exactly big on showing emotions, she knew that Burt was a very passionate man, and that the one thing he was the most passionate about was his son and his son's well being. It was one of the things she loved about him. Reaching out, she took Burt's hands in her own. "I'm not going to try and defend what Finn said. It was wrong and not the correct way to display dislike over the room. You have every right to not want certain things said and done in your home because your right, Kurt does deserve a safe haven. However, I do think that perhaps you and I rushed things by moving in together."

Burt suddenly felt like a tire that had been slashed and was losing air. This was exactly what he had been afraid of. What he had hoped so desperately that he could avoid. He searched for the words to ask the question that would etch his fears in stone but couldn't find them. It was Carole's voice that broke the silence.

"I think emotions are probably running too high for us to sort things out tonight. We all need to take a step back and let things settle down. I'll grab some things for me and Finn tonight and head to a hotel for the night. You and I can get together tomorrow and discuss what we're going to do long term," Carole told him, silently thanking that this had happened soon enough that the small home she and Finn had been living in had yet to be sold.

Burt nodded in agreement. What else could he do? He didn't want Finn back in the house yet, much less spending the night in the same room as Kurt.

"I'll pay for the hotel room," he told her, cringing at how harsh and inconsiderate the offer sounded even in his own ears. Still, covering the cost for Carole and Finn to have a roof over their heads for the night was the least he could do giving the current situation.

"I appreciate it," Carole replied, raising on the balls of her feet to give him a kiss. With a final squeeze of his hands, she turned and headed back outside. She wanted to inform Finn what was going on, and find out what he wanted from the house for the night before doing her packing.

* * *

It was fifteen minutes later when Carole walked back into the house. Finn was sitting in the passenger seat of the car waiting for her. Both of them agreed that him keeping his distance for now was the best for everyone involved. Carole had also decided that putting off in depth discussion of what had happened was best left until they were settled in a hotel room.

The smell of the spaghetti was now wafting in from the kitchen, reminding Carole that she would have to figure out something for dinner for both her and Finn. Deciding that giving Kurt a little more space couldn't hurt, she headed to the bedroom she was sharing with Burt first. It didn't take her long at all to have a small duffel bag packed with the things she would need for the night.

With that done, going down to the basement bedroom was the only thing left for her to do. She covered the short distance to the basement steps, and placing the bag by the door, knocked on the slightly opened door. Though the gesture elicited no answer, Carole pushed the door open the rest of the way and quietly began her descent.

"Kurt, is it okay if I come down," Carole called out as she slowly made her way down the steps. "I want to get some of Finn's things for the night." She paused as she waited for an answer.

There was a brief moment of silence before Kurt called out for her to come down. Carole finished the descent into the basement getting her first look at the room that had caused all this trouble. Taking in the decor she could understand why her son hadn't liked it, though that didn't excuse the way he had handled the situation. When her eyes fell on Kurt, looking over his shoulder at her from where he was sitting, the red-rimmed puffy eyes were no surprise to her, having heard the waver in his response only moments ago.

"I'm sorry," Kurt said as soon as Carole had taken the last step off the stairs. "I didn't think that Finn would get so upset about the room. I guess I should have consulted him about it. I didn't mean to ruin things between you and my Dad."

"Oh, Sweetie, you haven't ruined anything," Carole rushed to assure him as she crossed the room and took a seat next to him. "Nobody is blaming you for anything. I know it was just a misunderstanding that got out of hand." Reaching out, she took one of his hands in hers. "And Finn should have never used the word he did, no matter what he thought of the room. It wasn't right."

Carole saw tears starting to sparkle in Kurt's eyes again at the mention of what Finn had said. Not wanting to see Kurt start crying again she glanced around the room. "You did a lovely job with redecorating this place but you know, it doesn't really seem like Finn."

"I guess not," Kurt said with a sigh. "I think I liked it the old way better myself," he admitted. Kurt paused as if considering if he should continue or not. "I don't think the way the room is really the issue though. Finn just isn't comfortable sharing a room with me. I tried to make him feel like it was his room too, though."

"I'm sure you did," Carole assured him, giving the hand she was holding a slight squeeze. She had quickly learned just how sweet, and sensitive a person Kurt was and knew he tried hard to make people happy. Especially people that he cared about. "I think the issue here though is that your father and I rushed into this without giving you or Finn any warning. The four of us should have probably sat down and discussed this new living arrangement before we went through with it. Gave both you and Finn time to get use to the idea or maybe even waited until you both could have had a room of your own."

"I don't want you and Dad to break up because of this," Kurt told her, his voice taking on an almost pleading tone.

"Don't you worry yourself about that? This is something that your dad and I have to work out for ourselves and if we can't then perhaps this wasn't meant to be."

"I just want Dad happy and you make him happy, Carole. I haven't seen him smile as much as he has been since Mom . . . "

The words were choked off as Kurt swallowed hard trying to keep himself from starting to cry again.

Carole let go of Kurt's hand, but slipped an arm around his shoulders pulling the distraught teenager close to her. "I've come to love both your father and you, Kurt. What happened this afternoon doesn't change that and I'm not about to give up on what we have so easily. Your father isn't either."

"But you're leaving?"

"Everyone needs some space right now, Kurt. That's all this is. It isn't good-bye, you understand me?"

Kurt nodded, still looking miserable.

Carole gave his shoulders another squeeze and kissed the top of his head. "Things will be okay and even if your father and I don't work things out, I'll always be there for you. Okay?"

The question received another nod in response. Quietly, Carole stood up and started gathering Finn's things. Once she had everything her son had requested, she grabbed his pillow from the other bed and headed upstairs. She was met in the entry way by Burt who was standing there with a bag in his hand.

"Dinner for you and Finn," Burt explained as he held the bag up slightly.

"Thank-you," Carole replied sincerely, relieved that one more thing had been resolved for her.

Carole went to retrieve the bad she had left on the floor, but Burt stopped her, picking the bag up himself.

"I'll help you take things out," he told her.

Carole didn't protest as it would give her a few more moments to figure out how to say good-bye. She didn't want them parting tonight with either of them thinking the other was mad at one another.

Silently the two made their way out of the house. Though she wasn't sure about the man beside her, Carole was scrambling for something to say to make this situation better. The fact was though, this wasn't going to be an easy fix. Feelings had been hurt on all fronts and each of them had to figure out a way to work those out with one another. Part of her wondered if that was even going to be possible in some cases.

Walking toward the car, Carole noticed Finn duck his head when he saw Burt walking toward the vehicle with her. She had caught the look of shame on her son's face briefly and knew that Finn genuinely regretted what had happened. Her heart went out to him, even though part of her was angry with him for using that word around Kurt. Hanging out with Burt these last few months had been good for Finn. Her son needed a strong father figure in his life because try as she might, there were some things she just couldn't provide for her son. Now, she wondered if that had been lost for good.

Reaching the trunk, Carole opened it and placed Finn's things in the trunk. Burt handed her the bag containing the food and then place the bag with her things in the trunk. Silently he reached up and shut the trunk lid. Though Carole saw his Adam's apple bob as Burt swallowed hard, his eyes were dry when he turned to face her.

"You'll call and let me know where your staying when you get settled?" Burt asked, the hesitancy clear in his voice.

"I will," Carole told him, forcing herself to smile despite feeling like her heart was breaking. She hadn't felt like this since the day she got the news that her first husband had been found dead after disappearing. Back then she had never thought she would find someone to share that kind of love with again. Her failed relationships over the years only helped reinforce that feeling and then Kurt had introduced her to his father. "I'm not ready to give up on this," she told him.

Burt swallowed hard again as he nodded in response. Pulling her into his arms, he hugged his girlfriend tightly.

"I do love you," he said softly into her hair as he held her tight.

"I know," Carole replied as she listened to the sound of his heartbeat. "And I love you," he assured him even as she silently asked if love was enough this time? Could their love see them through this? Could their two very different families figure out a way to become one? All those questions flooded through her mind as she held onto Burt like he was a lifeline.

Eventually the two of them parted. Stepping back, Carole caught a glance of Finn in her peripheral vision as he tried to watch them through the rear-view mirror. She had to suppress a smile. Her son had never been any good at being subtle about anything - something he took after his father in.

"I'll call you as soon as we check-in to a hotel and we'll go from there."

Burt nodded his agreement, stepping back onto the grass as Carole walked around the car and climbed behind the wheel. As she backed out of the driveway, Carole couldn't help but wonder if she would ever be coming back to this house again.


	2. Looking At Things From New Angles

_AN: So here's chapter 2. This chapter mainly focuses on Carole and more specifically Finn. Thanks for those of you who took the time to review chapter 1, I enjoy hearing what people think!_

* * *

The ride to the nearest, reputable, hotel that Lima had to offer, a Howard Johnsons, was a silent one. Neither Carole nor Finn were in the mood to talk, each for their own reasons. Turning into the hotel's parking lot, Carole was relieved to see the vacancy sign blinking on the sign as she had no desire to spend a lot of time searching for a place with an available room. All she wanted to do was find a place to stay for the night and then try to figure out where to go from there. She couldn't believe that only this morning she had felt like the luckiest woman alive. Things had been going so well. Not even in her nightmares would she have imagined coming home from the hospital to the situation that she had.

"I'll get the bags," Finn told her, as Carole pulled into a parking spot not far from the entrance to the building.

"Thanks," Carole replied, putting the car in park and pulling out the ignition. She pulled the lever to pop the trunk as both she and Finn climbed from the car.

While Finn walked to the back of the car, Carole retrieved her purse and the bag of food from the backseat. Pushing the back door shut and making sure the car was locked she looked toward the back of the car.

"Finn, I'll meet you inside, okay?"

"Sure, mom," Finn replied, pulling his backpack out of the trunk and slinging it over one shoulder.

Carole turned and headed into the hotel to check-in. The man behind the desk was retrieving keys to the room when Finn came in to join his mother. Within minutes the two were following the directions of the concierge trying to find their room number. It wasn't long before the two of them were standing outside of room 326. Slipping the keycard through the card reader, Carole waited for the beep and green light to flash before turning the doorknob.

As the air conditioner had been turned off between guests and the windows were closed, the room was stuffy when the duo walked in. Carole led the way into the room, walking past the two beds and over to the small table sitting by the sliding glass doors to the balcony. She placed the bag on the table and covered the short distance to the air conditioner.

Behind her, Finn had followed his mother slowly into the room, making sure the door closed properly behind him, but had stopped at the first bed. Placing the bags on the bed he sat down next to them and watched his mom for a moment. When she headed back to the table to pull out the stuff that Burt had sent with them for their dinner, Finn finally spoke up.

"Did I just ruin your relationship with Burt?"

"I don't know," Carole replied, setting out the plates and utensils that Burt had sent along.

"I'm sorry," Finn said, the words sounding inadequate but not knowing what else he could say. The young quarterback knew he had screwed up this afternoon. He should have handled the situation in the basement differently - simply said he didn't like the room instead of making the comment that he did.

_I can't live here. I'm a dude._*

The words still echoed in his head, sounding harsher each time he replayed them. Saying that he didn't like the room would have hurt Kurt's feelings but not as much as those words, or the ones said afterwards, must have. The fact that the other teen had started yelling back at him was testimony to that. Though Kurt had never been one to cower in front of bullies, he had also never raised his voice to anyone to Finn's knowledge. After his initial surprise at Kurt yelling back, Finn had done what came naturally when he felt threatened - he had gone on the offensive. He hadn't really thought through how hurtful his choice of words would be. He hadn't been thinking at all when he had said them. The moment that Burt had appeared in the basement was the moment that Finn had realized what he had said. Had realized just how hurtful his words had been and wished he could have taken them back. There was no taking them back however and the memory of the tears glistening in Kurt's eyes was just as vivid as the repeating words in his head were.

"I know you are, Finn," Carole replied. She wasn't angry with her son any more than she was at Burt for his decision. What she felt was disappointment. "Come eat," she continued gesturing to the meal now laid out on the table. "I'm going to make a quick phone call," she told him, stepping toward the sliding glass door with the intention of making her promised call to Burt.

Standing up, Finn made his way over to the table as his mom slipped out of the room. He dished out some of the spaghetti onto a plate and grabbed a slice of garlic bread, taking a bite of it before placing it on his plate. As he grabbed one of the plastic cups and the thermos of tea, he kept casting glances out the window at his mother. As Carole had her back to her son, Finn couldn't gauge how the phone call was going, and though she hadn't said so, he had a feeling that it was Burt she had called.

After pouring some tea into his cup, he twisted the cap back on and sat down in one of the chairs. As he slowly started eating, he kept glancing out at his mother. He knew their discussion about what had transpired this afternoon wasn't finished and part of him wished she would come back inside so that they could get it over with, though he knew this would be the easier of the three conversations he knew he would eventually have to have. Even if neither of them could forgive him, Finn knew that he at least had to make apologies to both Kurt and Burt.

It wasn't long before Carole ended her phone call and slipped back into the room. After getting out some food she sat down across from Finn. Instead of eating though, she gazed across the table at her son.

"What was tonight really about, Finn? Somehow, I don't think that the room's decor was really the issue this afternoon, especially not after talking to Kurt."

"You talked to Kurt already?"

Carole nodded. "When I went down to get your things. And I can understand you not liking the room, but what I heard you said this afternoon was completely uncalled for."

"I know. I wasn't thinking. I didn't mean to call Kurt . . . "

"But you did, Finn. Kurt put a lot of effort into redecorating that room. Words are powerful things, Finn, and referring to the decor that Kurt chose is a reflection of him, don't you think?"

Finn nodded in agreement.

"And this isn't the first time you've done something to hurt him, is it?" Carole asked, putting her fork down on her plate and gazing across the table at her son. Finn wore a guilty expression, though he remained silent as if not wanting to admit to something that she didn't already know about. "We've talked about the bullying at the end of last year when the school called me about you and your friends getting caught throwing water balloons with urine in them at another kid. I told you then that it needed to stop. That it wasn't acceptable behavior. What I didn't know then was that the kid you and your friends were tormenting was Kurt."

Finn swallowed hard before trying to speak. "How do you know?"

"Burt was telling me about some of the bullying that Kurt has had to put up with not long after we started dating. Some of the things that he's had to deal with personally because of Kurt being gay."

"It's not like he tries to hide it. Kurt makes himself a target."

"And that's supposed to be an excuse. If anything you should be standing up for Kurt and kids like him when other kids start giving him a hard time. Do you realize how much Burt worries about Kurt? I mean all parents worry about their kids, it's part of being a parent, but I feel blessed that I know you can pretty much look out for yourself, Finn. I don't have to live in fear of getting a phone call saying you're in the hospital because some type of bullying went too far or because of some stupid hate crime. Have you ever stood up for Kurt?"

"On occasion," Finn replied, thinking of the few times he had told Puck to lay off the other teen.

"I know this year has been rough on you, what with the situation with Quinn and the flak you've been taking from your friends because your in Glee Club. Now imagine if you had to deal with that not only from some of the guys on the football team, but almost every guy in the school."

"I probably wouldn't want to go to school," Finn admitted. Unable to maintain eye contact, Finn looked down at his forgotten plate of spaghetti.

"Exactly, so maybe you need to keep that in mind when you and your friends start to pick on not only Kurt, but any other kid at school. You need to think about what you say or do Finn, not just react."

Finn nodded.

"And to be fair, I guess I'm to blame for some of this. I didn't stop to think about how you would feel about moving in with Burt and Kurt. I was so excited about the idea of being able to give you a feeling of a real family that I didn't think about anything else or discuss the idea with you and I should've at least done that. I should have realized that with as different as you and Kurt are, and the fact that both of you have been only children for sixteen years, that sharing a room wasn't going to be easy."

"Yeah, a little warning would have been nice," Finn admitted. "I could've probably tried a little harder at the whole thing though. It's just that . . . " Finn let his thought trail off, wondering if admitting his feelings would lead to yet another lecture. He'd had about all he could handle of those already today.

"Just what, Finn?" Carole prompted, wanting to know exactly what Finn was feeling. The only way they had a chance at being one family was if everyone was honest about their feelings with one another. This wasn't just a relationship between her and Burt. Their sons had a stake in it as well.

"I'm just not comfortable sharing a room with Kurt."

"Because he's gay."

"No!" Finn said quickly. "Well, perhaps that is part of it," he amended, not able to lie to his mother. He was bad at lying as it was, as the incident with Puck about his mother having surgery had shown, but he had never been able to lie to his mother. He remembered as a kid trying to lie about how a basement window got broke when he, Puck and a few other neighborhood kids had been playing baseball. He hadn't even been able to get halfway through the story Puck had quickly come up with and had admitted to throwing the ball that had gone through the window. "But it's more than just that," he continued. Finn dropped his voice as he said the next words quickly, "Kurt has a crush on me."

"What did you say?" Carole asked her son, not positive that she had heard him correctly.

"Kurt has a crush on me. I find him staring at me during the classes we have together. And when we ended up having to do the duets project together for Glee, he acted all flirty, kind of like girls get around guys they like."

Carole took a moment to consider her response to this information. She could understand how Kurt having a crush on him could make her son uncomfortable though it still didn't excuse his actions. This was definitely a situation that needed to be handled delicately, as she needed to be mindful of Finn's feelings while showing him that he needed to do the same when it came to Kurt's feelings.

"I can see how that could cause an awkward situation," Carole admitted. "Has he ever done anything more . . . overt toward you?"

"No." The single word answer came out very quickly. Finn's facial expression told Carole that her son was uncomfortable with what that question implied.

"Let me ask you another question then. Has there ever been a girl who you're not attracted to, you don't need to tell me the reason, who has openly showed that they have feelings for you?"

Immediately Roxanne Summers came to mind. For as far back as he could remember, Roxanne had always been the teacher's pet. She was that one kid in school that seemed to be able to do no wrong and who always knew all of the answers. And it wasn't as if Roxanne was ugly, she had her good points, even if they were hidden beneath the black rimmed glasses all the time. As for her body, well what with the baggy clothes it was hard to tell if she was thin or not. No, she had definitely never been a girl that would catch a guy's eye.

At the beginning of freshman year, Roxanne had seemed to have taken an interest in him. She had passed him notes a couple of times in class. Offered to help him with schoolwork, which given his grades might not have been such a bad thing. Had hung around football practices watching him, which had given Puck and some of the other guys ammunition to razz him about Roxanne liking him which he'd always had a feeling she had. In a way it had been kind of flattering but Roxanne just wasn't his type. He liked the more outgoing girls, not the withdrawn, bookish type girls.

"Yeah, I can think of somebody," he replied.

"How did it feel knowing that a girl liked you?"

"Kind of flattering, I guess. I mean, we want people to like us."

"Would you have ever gone out with this girl if she had gotten up the courage to ask you out?"

"No."

"So how is Kurt's supposed crush on you any different."

"Because he's a guy. I'm not like that."

"I'm not trying to imply that you are but you wouldn't have gone out with the earlier girl any more than you would Kurt, and yet you said the fact that she liked you was flattering. Finn, any time another human being thinks that there is something special about us, provided there aren't any inappropriate actions taken, we should feel flattered. It means someone cares about us enough to take notice of us."

Finn didn't know what to say to his mother's last statement, though he had to concede she had a point.

After a minute or two of silence, Carole spoke up again. "Let me give you something else to think about. Have you ever liked a girl who didn't feel the same way about you?"

"Yeah. Quite a few times actually."

"Okay. So finding someone you like who returns those feelings isn't always easy, right?"

Finn nodded in agreement to the question, still trying to figure out where his mother was going with this.

"So, now let's say your options of people to choose from is cut by about three quarters."

"Mom, I hate math," Finn protested.

Despite the situation, Carole found herself smiling at her son's reaction. "Don't worry, this isn't graded," she told him. "But if there are fewer people to choose from, finding someone who is going to return your feelings is going to be harder, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Well, that's the situation that Kurt is in. And not just with finding someone who is going to love him back but finding people, who are willing just to be his friend. Perhaps you need to keep that in mind when you're with your friends on the team."

Once again, Finn was sure how to respond to that. Trying to avoid actually having to say anything, the teen quickly twirled some spaghetti onto his fork, and took a bite of the now cold spaghetti. He didn't really taste it but at least it occupied his mouth.

"I'm not going to punish you for using bad judgement this afternoon. Grounding you isn't going to help you make a better decision next time. I do want you to keep in mind what Burt and I have said today and think about. Maybe let something we said guide your actions the next time you find yourself in a difficult situation. You're growing up Finn, and you need to start acting that way."

Finn swallowed the bite of spaghetti he had taken. "I guess you expect me to apologize to Kurt and Burt?"

Carole shook her head, slowly twirling the tomato sauce-covered noodles on her plate around her fork. "You need to make that decision yourself or it won't mean anything," she told him.

Finn sighed. Somehow his mom making him make apologies would be so much easier. As angry as Burt had been with him, Finn wasn't sure he could get up the courage to talk to the man on his own.

Carole made a face as she put the bite of food in her mouth. She never had cared for cold spaghetti. Pushing back her chair, she got to her feet.

"Do you want me to warm your dinner up too?" Carole asked, as she picked her plate up ready to put the room's microwave to use.

Finn glanced down at his plate. He hadn't really even realized it was cold and now that he looked at it, he wasn't really hungry.

"No thank-you,' Finn replied, standing up himself. "I'm not really hungry anymore. I think I'm going to go for a walk," he told her, walking toward the door.

"Just don't stay out too late," Carol called after him, the mother in her worrying about him but knowing that she had to let him go. As much as she would like to, she couldn't shelter him forever.

She didn't get a reply as the door shut behind Finn. With a sigh, Carole crossed the room to the microwave sitting on top of the small refrigerator and freezer sitting in the one corner of the room.

One thing was clear to her, Carole knew that she needed to call Shelby at the real estate agency in the morning and tell her to take the house off the market. Even if she and Burt found a way past this, her and Finn moving back in any time soon was out of the question. It was clear to her now that none of them were ready for that. Well, perhaps she and Burt were ready for it but at least until they were done with high school, both of them had to put their sons ahead of their own desires.

* * *

His walk had started out as just that, a simple walk to try to clear his head. Finn hadn't even thought about where he was going. The Titan quarterback had simply left the hotel and started walking. Unaware of his surroundings he found his mind replaying all the events of the night. He kept hearing the shouted words and the disappointment in people's eyes. Their disappointment in him.

Somehow Finn wasn't surprised that things were unraveling like they were. He seemed to be screwing things up the entire year. First there had been the baby scare with Quinn that he had gone through. He should have known he wouldn't have been able to get her pregnant in the hot tub but he had bought her lie so easily because he hadn't wanted to face the reality of what calling her out would have meant - that she had cheated on him. That had been the last thing he had wanted to face and when he finally had, finding out Puck was the real father was even more of a blow. Not that he had been ready to be a father - that was one thing that he had been sure of through the whole mess.

As if that hadn't been enough, there was the whole mess with Schuester finding the marijuana in his locker. Finn knew it wasn't his but trying to prove that would be impossible. He just couldn't face the possibility of his Mom not taking his word that it wasn't his. Even Glee had been a more palatable option compared to facing letting his mom down like that. After everything she had gone through and seeing the disappointment in her eyes when he had been caught harassing Kurt he had known he couldn't face that.

He still wondered who had put the marijuana in his locker. There aren't many people who had access to his locker. Quinn of course knew his locker combination, but he couldn't see her having drugs in her possession. That left Puck. He didn't have the combination to his locker but he had been hanging around plenty of times when he'd had the locker open and would have had the opportunity to slip the bag inside. At the time Finn hadn't though Puck capable of setting him up like that. After finding out he had cheated with his girlfriend on him, well Finn wouldn't doubt that Puck was capable of anything.

So that left him with the whole Glee vs. the football team disaster. Even being the quarterback hadn't saved him from the social outcast status that Glee brought along with it. Oh, he wasn't as bad off as most of the kids in the club, he definitely hadn't got slushied as much as the others had, but he sure wasn't king of the school, which he had thought being quarterback would make him. Of course losing all but one game of the season, the one that Kurt had kicked the winning field goal for, didn't help that any.

Which brought him to Kurt. Was it his fault that Kurt made himself such an easy target with the other jocks? Even being on the football team hadn't helped that situation much, especially after he had chosen Glee over football. The other guys in Glee had ended up doing that too but Kurt's decision had been quick and decisive - and had also ended any real chance they would have at winning any other games that season. Finn knew his teammates recognized that even if they wouldn't admit it out loud. Without Kurt, they hadn't stood much of a chance at winning any of their final games.

As his thoughts had raced within his mind, unconsciously Finn had slowly picked up his pace until he was moving at a slight jog. Nothing overly taxing but somehow the pounding of his feet on the sidewalk was soothing. A steady beat that called to the drummer inside of him.

The realization that they couldn't win the games without Kurt was the main reason the team had wanted him to throw a slushy in Kurt's face to show his loyalty. He hadn't wanted to do it - not only because he knew what it meant to be on the receiving end of a slushy now but because he really liked Kurt. He was a cool guy once you got to know him, even though he and Kurt couldn't have been more different. About the only thing they had in common was their love of music though Kurt had so much more talent than himself. Finn knew he wouldn't be able to sing and perform one of Sue's Cheerios numbers especially as he had issue with the simple choreography the Glee club was doing. Despite their differences though, Finn found that he did enjoy spending time with Kurt - if only the other teen would get over his crush on him. His teammates' jokes about them going out together were bad enough.

"_And take some time to think whether or not any of your friends on the football team would have done that for you."_**

That hadn't taken Finn long to answer. In fact, he'd come up with the answer before the girls had ushered Kurt through the door to the girl's room - no one on the team would have taken a slushy for him, let alone thrown it in their own face.

And what had he done to repay that act - absolutely nothing. He couldn't even make an attempt to get Karofsky and Azimio to lay off Kurt because of the Lady Gaga costume. Instead he had blamed Kurt for giving the two jocks a reason to harass him in the first place.

~_I have no idea what Kurt would even see in me, _~ Finn found himself thinking before he had time to think about what he was actually admitting to himself.

"I like Kurt only as a friend," the quarterback muttered to himself as he picked up his pace once again.

~_A friend sticks up for you even if it isn't the popular thing to do, ~ _a voice inside him said.

Whether he liked the admission or not, he did consider Kurt a friend now. Finn found that he counted all the members of Glee among his friends, even Puck and Quinn who he was still mad at. If that was the case though, it was probably time that he started acting like a friend. The first thing he needed to do on that count was apologizing to Kurt. After that, he owed Burt an apology, though he figured he'd give the older man a few days to calm down before venturing to do that.

Realizing that if he didn't get back before long that his mom would probably start looking for him, Finn turned around, choosing to keep jogging, hoping to clear his mind further before returning to the hotel room. Perhaps he might even think of what to actually say to Kurt by then.

* * *

_*Words taken from "Theatricality"_

_**Words taken from "Mash-up" (I think that's the right episode, either way it's not my line)_


	3. Guilt

_AN: So here is chapter 3. I'm still in the events of "Theatricality" but I think there was a lot to explore with these guys for that episode that the show didn't do, so we'll be hanging around this time frame for a bit. Hope you all don't mind. Would love to here feedback if you've got the time!_

* * *

Back at the Hummel home, Burt and Kurt sat across the table from one another. Both were silent as they ate their dinner. Well, Burt was eating. He was about halfway through his own meal when he realized that Kurt was moving the spaghetti around on his plate more than he was actually eating it.

"What's wrong there, Kiddo? I know I'm not the best cook but the spaghetti doesn't taste all that bad to me," Burt said, the lightness of the words unable to mask the worry in his voice.

"It tastes fine, Dad. Guess I'm just not the hungry," Kurt replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

"You barely ate anything," Burt replied, gesturing to Kurt's plate with his own fork. His son always had been thin and because of that Burt worried about any lack of appetite his son showed. It wouldn't take much for Kurt to get too thin and given the heartache his son had seen, Burt often found himself worrying over Kurt's health - physical and emotional.

"I'll eat some fruit or something before I go to bed tonight," Kurt promised, placing his fork on the plate. As his father had already called him out, there was no point in pretending to be eating any longer. "May I be excused?"

"Is there something you want to talk about?"

Kurt shook his head in response to the question. Burt sighed. It was times like these that he wished Kathleen was still alive. She had always known how to comfort their son. She had known just how to coax him into talking and how to ease his worries. Burt always felt inadequate at those times, though he did try. Ever since his wife had passed away, Burt had felt as though he was in over his head with this parenting thing - especially when Kurt had his nightmares. It had been one of the reasons Burt had been so keen on the idea of Carole and Finn moving in as Carole knew how to handle all that emotional stuff better than he did. The fact that Carole had taken to Kurt right away had helped matters. Burt had hoped that having her in his life would benefit Kurt.

"Go ahead," Burt replied not wanting to make things worse by requiring Kurt to stay at the table.

Instead of returning to his dinner, Burt silently watched as Kurt got to his feet. Without another word, Kurt cleared off his plate, rinsed it, and placed it in the dishwasher. The teen then retrieved his glass of water from the table, and forcing a smile fo his Dad head for his bedroom. It wasn't until Kurt was out of sight that Burt returned to his own dinner though he found he had lost his appetite now too. He was thankful for the excuse to the abandon it when the telephone rang. Getting to his feet, Burt crossed over to the phone.

"Hummel residence."

"Hey Burt, it's Carole. Just wanted to call and let you know that we checked into the Howard Johnson's for the night."

Burt nodded, though his girlfriend wasn't able to see the gesture over the phone. "Good. I'm glad you didn't have any trouble finding a place to stay tonight."

"I'm going to call the real estate agent in the morning and take the house off the market. It's kind of a good thing that there hasn't been any offers made on it yet."

"I'll help you get moved back in," Burt replied. Part of him wanted to tell her not to bother with doing that. He wanted to admit that he might have acted too rashly and that Finn could still stay here. However, Finn's words still echoed in his mind and the image of Kurt as he headed down to his bedroom tonight was still fresh in his mind. He couldn't take the risk of putting Kurt in that position again. "Did you get rid of the furniture yet?"

"No. Shelby felt that it would be better to show the house with the furniture so except for what we moved to you place it's still there."

"Good," Burt replied, his voice sounding gruffer than he intended.

"Shall we do lunch tomorrow and discuss things?" Carole asked.

"Sounds good," Burt replied, his heart skipping a beat at the prospect of seeing her. Other than Kathleen, Carole was the only woman that was able to cause that reaction.

There was a short silence on the line, as neither of them was ready to say good-bye but neither was sure what to say either. Finally, Carol spoke again.

"How's, Kurt? He was really upset when I left."

~_And that is why I feel in love with this woman_, ~ Burt thought, hearing the genuine concern for his son in Carole's voice.

"Still upset," Burt replied, not about to gloss over it and tell Carole that Kurt was fine. It was clear to even him that his son was anything but fine. "He barely touched his dinner and has already retreated to his room. I'm not sure whether I should try convincing him to talk to me or give him some space for now."

"Maybe give him some space right now but you should probably talk to him sometime tonight. He was worried that he had ruined our relationship when I talked to him before leaving. I tried to reassure him that nobody was blaming him for anything but it wouldn't hurt to get that reassurance from you either."

"Okay," Burt said, grateful for the bit of insight and advice Carole had provided. He would take any help he could get.

"I should probably go back inside. My dinner is waiting and I want to talk to Finn."

"All right. I'll see you tomorrow then. Twelve o'clock sound good for lunch?"

"That's fine," Carole agreed. "I'll meet you at the garage and we can decide where to eat then."

"Sounds like a plan. See you then."

Carole said her good-bye and then the line went quiet. Burt turned back to his unfinished dinner. Like Kurt, Burt suddenly had no desire to finish it. Picking up the plate, he scraped what was left into the trash can, rinsed the plate and put in the dishwasher. After putting the leftovers away, he headed for his desk in the den to try losing himself in some paperwork.

Downstairs, Kurt was sitting on his bed staring around the room at the unfamiliar surroundings. The room didn't feel like his anymore but then that was what his intended purpose of redecorating had been. He hadn't wanted to the room to feel as if it was just his. He had wanted Finn to feel as though he had some ownership in it as well. That he was at home instead of just staying in someone else's room.

That goal had failed miserably. Finn had hated it and the more he looked around at the decor the more he understood why. The room wasn't really either one of them.

~_I should have asked Finn for his input, ~ _Kurt conceded. ~_Found out what kind of things he liked and then maybe none of this would have happened._~

"_Well then the first thing that needs to go is that faggy lamp. And then we need to get rid of this faggy couch cover."*_

Even though the words were only echoes in his mind, Kurt still felt the sting of them once again. It wasn't as if he hadn't heard the word fag thrown at him before, Karofsky and Azimio had used it from time to time along with their other taunts, but somehow it had hurt more coming from Finn. Maybe because he had never expected the other teen to use the word, because even when Finn had been in on the taunting there had always been a kind of reluctance in his actions. Kurt always believed that Finn didn't really want to be in on the acts of bullying that he and his friends participated in. Kurt use to think it was wishful thinking on his part, but then Finn had stood up for him that one time when Puck had pushed him into the lockers. The other teen had also allowed him to protect his expensive jacket when the football players wanted to toss him in the dumpster.

Never had anyone, other than a teacher, made any attempt to put an end to the harassment Kurt was subjected to because of who he was. Deep down he had wanted to believe that Finn was different. That inside somewhere there was a decent guy who would someday be a friend. Finn joining Glee Club had only strengthened that belief. Oh, he knew the crush had been silly right from the start, that he hadn't stood a chance, but with everything else going on his life Kurt had needed to cling to that fantasy.

""_Well then the first thing that needs to go is that faggy lamp."*_

Finn was no different from the other jocks. Kurt's eyes drifted over to the lamp in question. He wasn't sure now what he had liked about it. The more he looked at it as Finn's words replayed in his head, the more he hated it. Getting to his feet, Kurt crossed over to where it sat and knocked it off the small table it was resting on. As it clattered to the floor, the act didn't make him feel any better. Kurt sank down onto Finn's bed feeling defeated. No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't put all the blame for the earlier argument on Finn. He had played a part in it, after all it was his silly crush and his redecorating that had provoked the argument.

Still, Finn's words had cut him deeply. More than anything else, despite all his bravado about being his own person and standing out, Kurt wanted nothing more than to be accepted as one of the guys - by his peers and by his father. No matter what he did though, he just couldn't seem to accomplish that. Joining the football team hadn't helped. Karofsky and the others had tormented him just as much. They had just had more time to do it. Scoring that winning field goal had been a fleeting moment of acceptance. Acting Butch to impress his Dad hadn't really gotten him anywhere expect told he wasn't being himself.

Kurt felt like he couldn't win.

Stretching out on the bed, he buried his hands in his arms, hoping to muffle any sounds that might alert his dad. He didn't need to cause his father any more grief. All his efforts to protect his dad from the ugliness that he faced every day because of his sexuality had been pointless as he had brought it into their home. He had introduced his Dad to Carole. If he hadn't things had would have been different. For starters, he wouldn't have lost his father's attention to Finn, who was clearly the son that his dad always wanted. His dad wouldn't have had to face the loss of another woman whom he had come to love. Most of all, the whole fiasco this afternoon would have never happened.

Carole had said nobody was blaming him for what had happened but the way he saw it, he had brought about the whole mess.

_He was removing books from his locker when suddenly the door was slammed shut. He drew his hand back quickly even as he jumped from the suddenness of it all. He didn't want to turn around. What he wanted to be was invisible or somewhere else entirely. Moments later though the decision of whether or not to turn around was taken from him, as a rough hand grabbed his upper arm and spun him around. The momentum of the movement sent him into the bank of metal lockers with a ripple of pain._

_Many of the jocks at the school seemed to take pleasure in harassing him. He had made it a survival tactic to try to stay out of their way. Two football players though seemed to take perverse pleasure in making those efforts in vain though and they stood before him right now._

"_Hey there, lady boy," Karofsky greeted, apparently the one who had shoved him into the lockers._

"_Don't you want to thank us for something?" Azimio taunted from his place right next to his football teammate._

"_For what?" he replied, his chin raising in defiance despite the fear rippling through his body. He couldn't show them fear though. That was what they wanted and he refused to give them what they wanted._

"_Shutting your locker of course."_

"_I wasn't finished so it was actually kind of rude. I don't thank people who have less manners than kindergartners."_

"_Perhaps we need to teach you some proper manners than," Karofsky said, raising his fist. "Fag."_

_But the last word wasn't Karofsky's voice - it was Finn and suddenly both Karofsky and Azimio were gone. Only the Titans quarterback stood before him now, fist raised just like Karofsky's had been. _

"_You think I want to live in some fancy room meant for a girl."_

"_We can redecorate if you want to."_

"_Oh, I plan on doing some redecorating."_

_And the smaller teen knew the quarterback wasn't referring to the bedroom, but something more immediate. A kind of decorating that would most definitely hurt._

"_Please don't," he requested, in a pleading tone that he never used when faced with bullies because it didn't help. The pleading was what they wanted - what amused them the most. This wasn't one of his usual tormentors though. This was Finn. Surely Finn would see reason._

"Kurt, wake up."

"_Fag," Finn said again, drawing back his fist in preparation for a punch. _

_He put his hands up in front of his face, shrinking back against the lockers. Instead of the anticipated punch though someone was shaking his shoulders instead._

"Kurt, wake up."

Kurt gasped as he woke up from the nightmare. Opening his eyes, he found himself looking into the concerned eyes of his father.

"Are you okay?" Burt asked, the concern evident in his voice.

Kurt found himself wondering if he had said anything in his sleep even as he answered his father's question. "Yeah. I'm fine," the teen replied, slowly sitting up as he tried to banish the memories of the nightmare he had just experienced. Though it had been a variation on a scenario that had been recurring in his nightmare over the past couple of years, never before had Finn been a part of it. Even when the other teen had been a part of the bullying in some capacity, never had his presence worked its way into his nightmares.

"Want to talk about it?" Burt asked.

His son had been suffering from nightmares since his mother had passed away. In those early years the nightmares had centered around her death or focused on losing both his parents. After a couple of years, the nightmares had become less frequent but Burt had noticed that with the start of high school they had started coming more frequently again. Unlike when he was younger though, Kurt didn't always confide in him what they were about.

Kurt shook his head as he sat up. "What time is it?" he asked instead, trying to reorientate himself. The last thing he was going to do was say something that would only make his dad more upset with Finn.

"Almost eight," Burt replied, stifling a sigh. "I made up a fruit salad for you," he added nodding toward a bowl he had placed on the small table that the lamp had been sitting on earlier.

Kurt noted that the lamp had been picked up and placed back on the table.

"Thanks."

Though he still wasn't really hungry, Kurt knew better than refuse the food. Just like he badgered his dad about the nutritional value of the foods his father consumed, Burt fretted over the amount that Kurt ate.

"Is there anything you want to talk about?"

"I'm fine, Dad," Kurt said, forcing a smile as he met his father's gaze. "Really," he insisted seeing the doubt in the older man's expression.

"Okay, then," Burt replied, getting to his feet. "I'm going to go see what I can find on TV, then. If you change your mind, you know where to find me."

Burt headed slowly toward the basement steps. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he glanced back over his shoulder. The smile on his son's pale face was clearly forced. The puffy, red eyes made it clear even to him that Kurt had been crying again and he could still hear the pleading "please don't" that Kurt had uttered softly in his sleep. Burt knew his son was hurting but he was at a lost as to how to help him.

~_I wish you were still here, Kathleen. You understood him so much better than I ever will_, ~ he thought silently as he watched his son run his fingers through his sleep tousled hair, though Burt was surprised that even the restless sleep he had found Kurt in upon coming downstairs was able to misplace any of the product laden strands of hair.

Still unsure of what to say, Burt continued upstairs hoping that Kurt would at least eat the fruit he had brought down if nothing else.

_***Dialogue taken from "Theatricality"**_


	4. Don't Want This To End

_AN: Ooops. Sorry guys. Somehow I missed last week's update. I have no excuses. I just plum forgot. Hope you enjoy the update this week though._

* * *

Though his surroundings were far from quiet, Burt Hummel found peace here in his garage. Two of his mechanics were busy making repairs to vehicles that had been left in their care. The clatter of metal against metal and the hum of power tools told him that the work was progressing even though he couldn't exactly see what was going on as he was underneath a Ford Taurus changing oil for one of his regular customers. Not that his mechanics required constant supervision - they were all hard working guys who had been with him for years. Even when he was away he knew his guys would be at the garage working hard and since becoming a single parent knowing that was a huge relief to the middle-aged mechanic.

Burt quickly and efficiently finished his task, and rolled himself out from underneath the Taurus. Grabbing the rag from a pocket of his coveralls, Burt wiped some excess oil from his hands before climbing to his feet just in time to see Carole walk through the open bay doors.

"Hey Carole," Burt greeted her, his eyes glancing toward the clock on the wall. He was relieved to see that it was only ten till noon, which meant that Carole was early and he hadn't lost track of time. "You're early."

"I got bored," she replied easily, a smile gracing her face. She walked up to Burt and leaned in for a kiss, careful not to get too close to the garage soiled overalls.

Burt bent down and pressed his lips against hers, savoring the taste of her cherry lip balm even as he heard cat calls from his employees. He didn't even bother acknowledging them as he and Carole broke apart. "Just let me clean up and we can get away from this zoo," he told her, smiling for the first time that day. "Why don't you have a seat," he suggested, waving his hand in the direction of their makeshift break area.

Carole did as suggested, not at all put off by the state of the garage as some women would be. She didn't expect a garage to be spotless, given its purpose, and Burt and his mechanics kept things tidy, swept, and things put away in the proper place. The fact that Burt made no apology for the state of things only made her love the man more. Things were how they were, and Burt Hummel wasn't a man to try to polish things up in order to impress someone. With him, you got exactly what you expected which had been a nice change of pace after some of the pretenders that she had dated over the years.

While she waited, Carole watched what was going on in the garage, noting how things seemed to run smoothly though she couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on. It had always amazed her how the guys here all seemed to make things run like clockwork though two or more cars seemed to always be in some state of repair. She could still recall the first time she had stopped by here, unannounced, as she had decided to stop in and say hi to Burt on her way to the grocery store after their second date. It had been a Saturday morning, and both Kurt and Burt were there rotating tires on Kurt's Navigator. Seeing father and son, both dressed in coveralls, working side by side had made such a sweet sight. Carole had stood by silently, just watching the scene play out, for a good five minutes before another mechanic who was working that morning had asked her if he could help her with anything.

Carole had been looking forward to seeing more father and son moments like that, perhaps even capturing some of them in photos, but now she wasn't so sure that would happen. She was grateful when Burt reappeared, the coveralls gone and the grease washed away from his face and hands. She didn't want to think of worse case scenarios. That was why she had left the hotel room in the first place. Right now all she wanted were answers. Could the two of them move past this and find a way to make things work? Carole knew that she wanted to. The real question was if Burt was willing to put in the effort.

"You ready?" Burt asked, reaching out for her hand.

"Lead the way," she replied, smiling, as she happily slid her hand into his work worn, rough hand.

"Do yo have a preference of where we go?" Burt asked as he led her toward his truck.

"Just some place quiet so we can talk. I think we have a lot of things to work through."

Burt nodded. "There's a nice little café not far from here called The Sunlight Café. Kurt introduced me to a few years ago. Apparently, he had been there with Mercedes and her family. It's a good place to really be able to talk to one another and the food is good," he told her, letting go of her hand as they reached the truck. Reaching for the passenger side doorhandle, he opened the door for her.

"I take it you and Kurt have had your share of conversations there?" she inquired.

Burt nodded. "We have, when I can get him to open up to me," he confessed, pushing the door shut.

Burt made his way around the front of the vehicle and climbed behind the wheel.

"How is Kurt?" Carole asked, as the truck's engine came to life, getting the feeling that Burt's comment was more than just a mere statement of past experiences.

"He seems upset to me but he keeps insisting he's fine. He didn't eat much dinner and I can only hope that he ate the blueberry muffin that I forced into his hand as he was leaving the house this morning for breakfast. He never skips breakfast especially as he's always getting on my case about how it's the most important meal of the day."

"Have you tried talking to him?"

Burt glanced in his mirrors before back the truck out of it's parking space. "I've offered. He says he doesn't want to talk. I think he thinks that not telling me things is protecting me but it really just makes me worry more," he said, taking his right hand off the steering wheel and let it fall to his side. "I wish his mother was still here."

Carole reached out and took Burt's hand in his own. "You're doing fine," she assured him, squeezing his hand reassuringly.

The two rode the rest of the way to The Sunlight Café in silence. After parking the truck, Burt got out and hurried over to the passenger side, opening the door for Carole. The two walked hand in had into the café. Burt asked for a table away from other customers so that they could talk, and the waitress gladly showed them to a back corner booth. It wasn't until after they had their drinks and had placed their orders that the subject they were really there for was broached.

"So I called Shelby this morning," Carole said as the raven haired waitress disappeared to place their orders. "So Finn and I will be moving back in tonight. I figured I'd pick him up from school and work on it tonight."

"I've got to work late at the garage tonight. We've got some cars that were promised by tomorrow and we're sort of backed up," Burt said apologetically. Though he knew, he could count on his employees to get the work done without him there, Burt didn't like to ask that of them. He believed in being there with them if he asked them to take time away from what time they got to spend with their families. Not to mention, part of him wasn't quite ready to face Finn again. He wasn't sure if he would be able to hold a civil tongue if he saw the teen this soon after the incident the night before.

"It's fine. I know you mentioned earlier in the week that you were getting backed up with work at the garage. We'll manage. What can't be finished tonight I'll work on tomorrow before I go in for the night shift."

Burt nodded, making a mental note to free up some time the following day. He'd aks Mike, who he often left in charge of the shop when he took extended leaves, to cover for him. There was a slight pause, as Burt gathered courage to ask the question that he feared what the answer would be. "So, where does that leave us?" he asked, gazing across the table at Carole.

"I don't think that us moving out necessarily has to be an end to our relationship," Carole replied, her gaze searching Burt's expression for his reaction to that answer. She could see relief in his eyes, even as the tenseness of his shoulders relaxed some with her words."I don't think that we really thought through what merging our two households really meant for all of us. I know I didn't," she admitted, feeling that she needed to expand her answer. "I was just so thrilled that you had asked Finn and I to move in, that I didn't even stop to think about how Finn would feel about the idea."

"I never really discussed the idea with Kurt before asking you to move in either. I guess I just figured that I'm the parent so what I say goes, but I'm not sure that works in this situation."

"You're right. Just because you and I were excited about joining our families, doesn't necessarily mean Finn and Kurt would be excited about it. And we did kind of spring it on them. I think they gave a decent attempt at making the situation work but they're just too different to really be able to share a room especially giving the circumstances."

"Because Kurt's gay?" Burt asked, his voice taking on a defensive tone. Despite all his mental coaching this morning about staying calm and talking things out rationally, he could feel his anger rising.

"Yes but not in the way your jumping to conclusions about," Carole told him, keeping her voice calm. "I don't have any problem with Kurt's sexuality and for the most part I don't think Finn does either. But let's face it, most of their peers, especially the guys, are uncomfortable with it and like any other kid his age Finn just wants to fit in. I'm not saying that it justifies what he said yesterday but it does put him in an awkward position. Finn has told me before that he's been teased about being Kurt's boyfriend, and apparently us moving in with you and Kurt has intensified that."

Burt had been Finn's age at one time too, though that seemed like a long time ago. He knew what peer pressure was like and how cruel kids could get in high school. He was also ashamed to admit that when he was that age, he would have probably been in with the group of kids who tormented people like his son. That knowledge only made him more determined to do what he could to protect Kurt now.

"That still doesn't give him the right to be using those words in my house."

"I agree. I'm not going to try to excuse what Finn did, but I do think that it shows that our two families aren't ready to be trying to live under one roof. I think we've got some things to work out before that can happen."

There was a pause in the conversation as the waitress came back with their food.

"Is there anything else I can get you?" the waitress asked sweetly, as she looked from Carole to Burt.

Burt glanced across the table at Carole, and after a short silent conversation answered for the both of them. "No. We're fine for now, thank-you."

"I'll check back later then," the waitress replied before walking away to check on another table.

"How we went about this wasn't fair to Finn or Kurt," Carole said, stabbing some of the Alfredo-covered penne noodles with her fork. "You and I aren't just two teenagers dating any more."

"Ain't that the truth," Burt commented lightly, as he munched on a fry.

Carole smiled at the remark even as she continued with her train of thought. "We can't just think of ourselves in this relationship. We both love our sons more than anything else in this world, and that is how it should be. That doesn't mean we have to give up what the two of us have, because let's face it, in two years Finn and Kurt are going to graduate high school and strike out on their own, and I sure don't want to find myself alone when that happens. However, I do think it's time that we stop acting on what we want and start considering how our decision affects them. We haven't really done much as a family before this. Perhaps it was naive to think that we could magically go from that to living under one roof."

As she finished talking, Carole took a bite of her lunch, not really tasting the food.

"You and Kurt do things together," Burt protested, pausing in the act of taking a bite of his cheeseburger. He was looking forward to enjoying it without the lecture from Kurt about how bad it was for his arteries. "And here lately he seems more willing to talk to you then me. And Finn and I have gone to ball games or watched them on tv together. You and I even went to Finn's last basketball game."

"Listen to what you just said," Carole told him, waving her fork in his direction as she spoke. "Me and Kurt, you and Finn, you and I - no where in there are all of us doing the same thing together."

Burt pondered her words as he chewed on the latest bite of his cheeseburger. Carole had a valid point. He even had to deal with some jealousy on Kurt's part stemming from the time he spent with Finn. He hadn't forgotten about Kurt trying to be someone that he wasn't to win his approval.

"You're right," Burt conceded. "So what do we do about it?"

"Well, for starters, Finn says he wants to apologize to both you and Kurt. I suggested that he waits a day or two so things can settle down."

Burt nodded. "I think that's a good idea," he replied. The anger he felt toward Finn was still right beneath the surface and Burt doubted that he would be willing to really hear an apology at this point.

"Then perhaps we can start going about this the right way. Instead of just two or three of us spending time together, we can start doing things as a group. Maybe have a game night, or catch a movie, or even just have a family dinner."

Carole paused as she reached a hand across the table. Burt quickly wiped his hand on his napkin before taking her hand. "I want us to work. These last few months, you've made me feel alive again instead of just like I was simply living. I don't want to lose that."

"I feel the same way," Burt told her, gazing across the table at her as he squeezed her hand. The look in his eyes revealed the emotions that Burt Hummel had never found easy to express.

Carole smiled, feeling more at ease. She was confident that this would all work out. They just needed to take things slowly.

The two resumed their meals, their talk changing to lighter topics. Carole and Burt both left the café feeling more at ease than when they had arrived.

* * *

Finn knew he had apologies to make. He had come back to the hotel the night before knowing that, and had told his mother that, even as he had apologized to her once again. He had come to realize that he hadn't really even given the whole concept of living together a chance. Ever since he had found out about it all, he had thought about was how it affected him - he had to give up the home he had grown up in and his room. How uncomfortable it would be sharing a room with Kurt knowing the other teen had a crush on him. He thought about how he was going to face increased teasing from the guy's on the football team. That those same guys would start saying that Kurt was his boyfriend - after all Puck had already given him a hard time along those lines after getting stuck with Kurt as a duet partner. All his thoughts had focused in on how his life was going to change but the reality was, he was the only one that had to make adjustments - he was just the only one that hadn't been willing to try.

What he had said down in the Hummel's basement was inexcusable. Burt had made a valid point when he had asked if he used the other derogatory terms. Finn knew he wouldn't call Mercedes a nigger any more than he would use the term retard to refer to Becky. Using any form of the word faggot, or any of the other derogatory terms used to put down homosexuals wasn't any different from those instances.

His mother had told him to give it a couple of days before he attempted to apologize to Burt. Remembering how angry Kurt's dad, a man who had quickly started becoming a father figure in his life, had been the day before, Finn hadn't protested that suggesting. Even then, Finn figured he would be better off going to the garage to make the apology giving that Burt had kicked him out of the house. He didn't think Burt would take to kindly to him showing up on his front doorstep.

As Finn made his way to the choir room though, he had put that apology out of his mind. He would figure out how to do it when the time came to make it. His first priority was to apologize to Kurt, and the quarterback had a feeling that it would be the harder of two. The fact that Kurt had been steadfastly ignoring his presence all day only reinforced that feeling. Before he could even attempt to ask Kurt's forgiveness, Finn had to get the other teen to at least acknowledge him presence.

Walking into the choir room, Finn saw that a lot of his fellow Glee Club members had already arrived, including Kurt. As he entered, he tried to catch Kurt's eye but the counter tenor was steadfastly refusing to look at the door. Instead he kept his eyes on Tina, who was sitting next to him, causing the light to glint off the fake jewels in the barrette pinned in the white whig Kurt was wearing as part of his Lady Gaga outfit. Finn noted that not only Kurt, but Tina, Quinn, Rachel and Mercedes were all still wearing their Gaga outfits. The last two girls had taken seats behind Kurt and Tina and with Matt sitting next to Kurt. The option of sitting next to him wasn't open to Finn.

Settling for getting as close to Kurt as possible, Finn made his way to the second tier and took a seat behind Quinn and Artie. As they waited for the rest of the club members to arrive, Finn kept casting glances in Kurt's direction hoping to catch the other teen glancing toward him. It didn't happen, although Finn was now close enough to catch the conversation between Kurt and Tina, though he lost pieces of it due to Mercedes, Rachel and Mike's conversation going on nearby. When Santana and Brittany came in and took seats to his left, the third conversation between Quinn, Artie and Santana was even more of a distraction.

"My balls keep falling off,"* Finn caught Tina saying. He could only guess that the comment was made in reference to the clear balls of her Lady Gaga outfit. Finn had missed whatever had been said to elicit that response. He did however catch Kurt's response to Tina's comment.

"I've been there,"* Kurt said, pausing slightly before finally turning his head to glare in Finn's direction.

Finn knew that this was his chance, possibly the only one he would get. Hoping most of his fellow show choir members were too engaged in their own conversations to pay attention to what he had to say, Finn leaned forward in his chair, "I want to talk about this."

"There's not much to say,"* Kurt told him bitterly.

Finn noticed that on the other side of Kurt, Tina was listening to the exchange though she was trying to look otherwise occupied. Finn found himself wondering if Kurt had told her what had transpired the afternoon before.

"I feel sorry for you," Kurt added, the look in his eyes still icy. "I thought you were different,"* he said, before turning his head to face the front of the room where Mr. Schuester was just walking in.

"I am different,"* Finn insisted.

Finn caught Kurt glancing back at him again out of the corner of his eye, but any chance of further conversation at that point was ended as Mr. Schuester called for their attention. Feeling disappointed that he hadn't really gotten anywhere, Finn settled back in his chair as Puck took the floor with their choir director's permission. Finn found himself only half listening to Puck's speech, though he knew where it was all headed as Puck had asked him to sing the second chorus of the song he wanted to sing for Quinn earlier in the day, as his mind was still pondering on how to reach Kurt. It was kind of hard to apologize when the person wouldn't really give you the time of day.

As Finn joined the guys who had performed the Kiss song for their assignment in the front of the classroom, he quickly ran through the lyrics he had to sing. As he did, he realized how well suited they were for the current situation with Kurt. Settling on the stool as Brad began the music, Finn smiled slightly as an idea came to him. Perhaps like Puck was using song to convey part of his message to Quinn, Finn could use the song to at least crack open the door enough that Kurt would give him a chance to make an apology. He knew much more than the song needed to be said, but perhaps it would be a start.

So with that in mind, as the second verse began, Finn focused his attention on Kurt as he sang the words. For once, he didn't care if those watching chose to misinterpret the act. As long as it caught Kurt's attention and perhaps softened the wall he had put up a little, then any ribbing that he took for it, would be worth it.

***Dialogue from "Theatricality"**


	5. Lesson Learned

_AN: I'm doing a bad job at remembering to update this story on Mondays. Supergirl02, you're going to have to start saying something to me on Tuesdays if I don't post Monday! Anyway, though it is four days late, I hope you'll all enjoy this chapter as I work to fill in gaps in "Theatricality". Thanks for all the reviews, follows and favs!_

* * *

As soon as Glee was over, Kurt grabbed his bag and made a beeline for the door. Not to be deterred, Finn quickly followed. The taller teen didn't both to call out for Kurt to wait for him as he figured he had little chance of that happening. Instead, Finn relied on his longer legs to make up the distance that Kurt had on him. By the time they reached the main entrance of the school, Finn had not only closed the gap but was able to get in front of Kurt, blocking the door.

"Kurt, we need to talk," Finn insisted.

"I've got nothing to say to you," Kurt maintained, his head held high in the normal defiance that he showed when dealing with the school bullies.

"Then will you at least listen to me?" Finn asked.

Kurt shook his head, before spinning on his heal and heading for another exit. Reacting quickly, Finn followed, easily staying in step with the other teen.

"I'm not letting this go, Kurt. I will keep following you until you at least listen to what I have to say."

"Having a lover's spat there, boys," Karofsky taunted, as Finn and Kurt walked by where he and Azimio were standing at the latter's locker. The two jocks laughed at Karofsky's joke as Finn and Kurt kept walking.

Finn noted that Kurt raised his head just a little bit higher as he continued walking. What the Titan quarterback wanted to do was turn around and confront his two teammates. He wanted to deny the accusation they were making but he knew that if he did Kurt would just keep walking. Right now, apologizing to Kurt was more important to him than defending himself from misplaced accusations.

Reaching the side exit, Kurt was able to slip out the door before Finn could get in front of him this time. Outside though Finn took advantage of the fact that he knew Kurt was heading for his car and got in front of the other team. By the time that Kurt reached his navigator, Finn was already there, leaning up against the driver's side door.

"Will you move?" Kurt demanded, coming to a stop a few feet in front of Finn.

"After you at least hear me out," Finn replied, not moving from his relaxed position of ankles crossed and arms folded across his chest.

Kurt sighed and let his shoulders droop in defeat. It wasn't as if he could physically move Finn out of his way even if he wanted. "Fine."

"Yesterday got way out of hand. I never should have used the words that I did even if I didn't like the room."

"Not liking the room wasn't exactly the main issue though was it," Kurt countered. His leveled gaze clearly challenged Finn to try to deny the statement.

"No, it wasn't," Finn admitted. "The real issue is that I'm uncomfortable with the whole idea of another guy having a crush on me," he said, lowering his voice even as he glanced around the area making sure that there wasn't anyone in the area that could overhear the conversation. "And you're not exactly subtle at times."

"I'm sorry if I embarrassed you in any way. I'll make sure not to even glance in your direction less it be misconstrued," Kurt replied, crossing his arms across his mid-section.

"No, don't going doing that. Don't go trying to make yourself the innocent victim in all of this," Finn said. "You've given me reason to be uncomfortable with sharing a room with you and you guys didn't exactly give me any warning. It was just sort of sprung on me. Would you have appreciated being told all of a sudden that you not only had to share a room with someone you made you uneasy but that you had to move on top of everything?"

Kurt looked down at the pavement between him and Finn.

"Now, I'm not saying that is any excuse for what I said. It isn't. There were better ways to express my feelings - about the room and our relationship in general. Your dad was right. I would never use those other derogatory terms and I never should have used that term around you in any way."

"You know I hear the word fag said to me almost every day I'm at school," Kurt said, finally looking up from the pavement. Finn didn't miss the brightness of Kurt's eyes as he struggled to hold back tears. "You get immune to it after awhile but somehow hearing it from you . . . well that hurt worst than anything Karofsky, Azimio or any of the other bullies have ever done to me. I thought you were my friend, Finn."

"I was. I am," Finn said quickly, surprised by Kurt's admission. He'd gotten a taste of what being called names was like this year and he couldn't ever imagine getting to the point where it was so common placed that he didn't even notice it anymore.

Kurt was shaking his head. "Sorry, if I find that hard to believe. A friend doesn't say hurtful things or talk to someone only when it's convenient for them. A friend stands up for you no matter what the cost to themselves or their reputation is. A friend doesn't tell someone that they need to try to blend in more but appreciates a person for who they are no matter how different they are from everyone else. Like I said Finn, I feel sorry for you because I don't think you even know what true friendship is. Can you move out of my way now, please?" Kurt asked, motioning for Finn to step away from his car.

Finn sighed. This hadn't gone the way he hoped it would and all he seemed to have done was upset Kurt once again. His mention of his previous comment about blending in told Finn that like his outburst hadn't been just about the room, Kurt's anger with him didn't stem from just the argument the day before.

As he didn't know what else to say, nor did he think that he could handle Kurt actually starting to cry, he hated seeing even girls cry, Finn stepped away from the driver's side door of the Navigator. Kurt stepped forward immediately and yanked open the door he had already unlocked with his keyless entry. The smaller teen quickly climbed inside and started the car, seemingly desperate to get away from the whole situation.

Finn watched the black SUV leave the school parking lot wondering what he could have said differently that might have gotten Kurt to accept the apology. Now that he had gotten to know Kurt, Finn found that he didn't want the counter tenor mad at him. Kurt was a unique person and much stronger than he or anyone else at the school gave him credit for because they only measured strength in the physical strength, which Finn was finding out wasn't the only kind.

With a sigh, Finn turned and headed toward the front of the school where his mother said she would pick him up. He had hoped to have settled the situation between himself and Kurt before having to go to Kurt's house to pack up his things. As he walked across the parking lot, Finn had a feeling that all he had managed to do was make things worse.

* * *

Kurt could feel the tears welling up in his eyes as he drove away from the school, the Wicked soundtrack playing from his CD player. He hadn't wanted to deal with Finn at all and now the situation seemed so much worse. Part of him had been hoping that Finn wouldn't bother saying anything and just do what the quarterback seemed to do best - ignore dealing with the emotional stuff. If he had then Kurt knew he would have been able to move past this whole situation and been able to at least be civil to the other teen, not that he wanted to do that. However, he did want his Dad happy and Carole made that happened. For his dad he had been willing to let what had been said in the basement slide. He would do anything for his father.

Try as he might though, Kurt hadn't been able to accept Finn's apology.

Words were all fine and good but what happened the next time Finn was with Puck and the other guys from the football team? Granted, even Puck had been leaving him alone more now that the mohawk sporting guy was in Glee Club but Kurt held no delusions about being safe. If tossing him in a dumpster meant saving face with his fellow jocks then Puck would do just that.

Kurt didn't need another fine-weather friend. He could find those easily enough. What he really wanted was a guy friend that would be there for him no matter what. It wasn't like he didn't have friends. He did have Mercedes, Tina and now even Rachel surprisingly. As much as he loved spending time with them though, it didn't help him feel like a normal male teenager and deep down that was all he wanted. He wasn't about to lose himself to accomplish that though. If Finn couldn't accept him for who he was, then his friendship wasn't worth it.

Pulling the vehicle to the side of the road, Kurt put it in park and pulled out his cell phone. Finding Mercedes' number, Kurt opened a text message.

_Are you busy?_

Kurt stared at the screen of his phone as "Defying Gravity" began to play. He was hoping that his oldest friend would reply quickly. The teen wasn't disappointed as the chime of the phone sounded as the new message announcement flashed onto his screen.

_No. Why?_

Kurt's fingers flew over the keys as he quickly typed a response.

_Can we hang out?_

Mercedes response this time was almost instantaneously.

_Of course. Your place?_

_No. I'll come over to your house_, Kurt quickly typed. The last thing he wanted to do was take a chance of Carole and Finn showing up at the house. At some point the two would have to get the rest of their things from the house.

_Okay. I'll see you soon then. Mike's dropping me off here now._

Relieved, Kurt tucked his cell phone back in his messenger bag. He would call his Dad once he got to Mercedes' house and tell him where he was, knowing that to call right now would give him away. His Dad would know that something was wrong just by the sound of his voice.

Putting the car back into drive, Kurt carefully pulled back out into traffic. He was hoping that Mercedes would be able to calm him down some.

* * *

Finn lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling of his room. Being back in his old house felt comforting somehow. Even though the walls were bare, and most of his possessions were currently in a box, the room was still his - the one place that he had always felt safe. Just being here had a calming effect on him and he didn't feel as tense as he had the past few days he had spent at the Hummels. Unfortunately, that calming effect didn't extend to his thoughts.

Finn had been both relieved and disappointed that Kurt hadn't shown up at his house while he and his mom were finishing the packing. He was relieved because it meant the task could be completed without the chance of another argument taking place. At the same time it also meant that Finn couldn't take another stab at apologizing to Kurt.

Perhaps his mom was right. Maybe at this point he just needed to give Kurt some space until an opportunity came around that he could show Kurt that he was sorry.

"_Sometimes actions can mean a lot more than words and given the situation, it could be that the only way you're going to convince Kurt of anything is by showing it."_

That had been his mother's advice when he had told her what had transpired at school that day when she had inquired what was wrong when she picked him up from school. His mom had never given him bad advice before, though right about now he wished she could tell him exactly how he could _show_ Kurt his sincerity.

There had to be a way to make this right. The question was what. What could he do to show Kurt that he meant what he said, that he really did want them to be friends?

Finn found himself replaying all of the things he and Kurt had argued about this past week. He kept thinking about the conversation about Kurt working harder to blend in. Finn had replayed that exchange several time in his head when he finally realized what it was that Kurt most wanted from people - he wanted to be accepted for who he was no matter how he chose to express himself.

~_So how do I show him that I accept him? _~ Finn asked himself, still staring up at the ceiling.

For once, it didn't take long for the answer to come to Finn. After all, the whole reason that he and the other guys had done a Kiss number this week was because he had gone to Mr. Schuester about not wanting to dress up in a Lady Gaga costume.

Swinging his feet over the side of the bed, Finn sat up. As much as he didn't want to, he really couldn't think of any other way. And it wasn't like he had to wear the costume the whole day - all he needed to do was wear it during Glee tomorrow.

Moving to his computer, Finn soon had images of Lady Gaga costumes up on the screen. He needed one that was flashy. A costume that was as far from something that he would normally wear as possible. Finn soon found that particular criterion wasn't exactly hard to fulfill. However, one costume in particular jumped out at him right away and Finn realized that they had something that could be used to make it on hand, all he needed was his mother's help.

Finn quickly printed out a copy of the picture and left his room. "Hey Mom, do you know where that old red shower curtain is?" he asked, as he entered the kitchen where his mom was busy putting dishes away.

Carole paused in the task and looked in her son's direction. "It's out in the garage in one of the boxes with stuff we were planning on throwing out," she replied, looking at Finn quizzically."What do you need with it?"

"I need you to make me a Lady Gaga costume for Glee tomorrow," he told her, as he walked over to where she was standing. He held the photo out her.

Carole looked at the photo and then up at her son, the surprise evident on her face. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah," Finn replied without a moment's hesitation.

"Okay, then. One Lady Gaga outfit coming up," Carole said, placing the plate she was holding down on the counter. "I put my sewing box in my bedroom. Go get it while I go find the old shower curtain," she told him as she headed for the garage, trying to remember what box she had stuffed the thing in.

* * *

All day long Finn had been second guessing himself. His mother had quickly created a red Lady Gaga dress out of the shower curtain and figured out a way to replicate the eye pieces. Now all he had to do was get up the courage to actually put it on, something that he kept going back and forth on. It seemed like every time that he would decide that he wasn't going to bother with the costume, Kurt would walk by him steadfastly ignoring him or Mercedes would walk by and glare at him. The latter act gave Finn the impression that Kurt had confided in the feisty soprano.

Standing at his locker, looking down at the duffel bag containing the shower-curtain dress, Finn knew that it was time to make the final decision. Did he take this chance to show Kurt that he was different from all of the other jocks or did he just play it safe?

With a final burst of courage, Finn reached in and snatched the bag from his locker. His mom had stayed up late working on the dress and it was his best chance of reconciling with Kurt. But this wasn't just about doing what was right by Kurt anymore. Kurt wasn't the only one that had been hurt by his actions and perhaps Finn wasn't exactly totally sold on all this 'one family' concept that his mom and Burt seemed to want to happen, but he did want his mom happy and even he wasn't naive enough to miss that this entire situation had upset her. Being with Burt made his mom happy and that was important to Finn.

His duffel bag in hand, Finn shut the locker and twisted the lock closed before heading for the bathroom closest to the choir room. Though he might be brave enough to don the costume, Finn wasn't about to go traipsing about in it any further than he had to.

Reaching the bathroom, Finn was relieved to find it empty. Just perhaps he could manage to pull this off with the only people seeing him in the costume being his fellow Glee Club members. That would be the ideal situation. Hurrying in the hopes that he could be out of the bathroom before anyone else ventured in, Finn put on the red dress. It felt weird to wear, probably because plastic wasn't exactly a material that he was use to wearing, but now that he had it on Finn knew he wasn't going to turn back. He was going to do. He was going to show Kurt that he was different from the other jocks. That he was okay with the idea of standing out from the crowd no matter how doing so labeled you. He was also going to show Mr. Schuester that, with the help of Kurt, he had learned the lesson that he thought that their choir director had wanted them to learn - that you shouldn't have to hide who you are just to conform to society's standards.

Stuffing his street clothes into the duffel bag, Finn picked it and his backpack up off the ground and slipped out of the stall. The bathroom was still empty, and Finn headed out of the bathroom with the intention of making a quick dash for the choir room. Stepping into the hallway though, Finn heard a familiar voice coming from down the hallway. Though he couldn't quite make out what Kurt was saying, he could hear the slight waver in the otherwise defiant tone - the tone Kurt used when standing up to the bullies.

Forgetting all about being self-conscious about the Lady Gaga costume he was wearing, Finn headed in the direction of Kurt's voice. As he got closer, he could make out the words.

"I'm proud to be different. It's the best thing about me. So go ahead. Hit me."*

"I believe I will,"* Azimio responded as Finn reached the intersection of two hallways and spotted the group.

Kurt was backed up against the windows at the end of the hallway with Azimio and Karofsky looming in front of him. Dropping both of his bags, Finn hurried toward them.

"Sir, would you like to go first?"* Azimio said to Karofsky.

"You're not hitting anyone,"* Finn said, making his presence known to the other three teens. Despite feeling like an idiot in his costume, Finn stood up tall and straight, showing the confidence that he needed to stand up to the likes of Azimio and Karofsky.

"Oh my God,"* Kurt whispered, the shock in the tone of his voice mirrored by that showing on his face.

"Is he wearing a red, rubber dress or am I tripping?"* Azimio asked, looking at Karofsky, the tone of his voice revealing the slight amusement he was getting from the scene.

Finn didn't pay any attention to the bully's comment but instead focused his gaze on Kurt. "I wanna thank you, Kurt. I realize I still have a lot to learn. But the reason I'm here right now in a shower curtain is . . . because of you. And I'm not gonna let anyone lay a hand on you,"* he said, taking a few steps toward Karofsky and Azimio.

"Oh, really, dude? 'Cause I'm pretty sure we can take both of you,"* Karofsky said confidently.

Beside him, Azimio's attention was drawn to something behind Finn, and he reached out to get Karofsky's attention.

"Yeah, but can you take _all_ of us?"* Puck asked.

Turning, Finn found the rest f the Glee Club approaching them. Each member of the choir was dressed in their costumes from the week's assignment.

"Okay. Okay, I get it."* Azimio said causing Finn to turn around again and catch the small smile that had replaced Kurt's look of panic. "I took biology. You know what, Karofsky? We done disturbed the freak hive. The worker freaks are tryin' to protect the queen freak."*

"Next time, we'll bring some friends too,"* Karofsky said, before slipping away clearly not liking the odds anymore.

"I'm tired of everyone calling us freaks,"* Rachel said as the two bullies slipped away and the Glee members relaxed.

Mercedes laughed as she looked around at the group. "Well look at us. We are freaks,"* she said, getting a laugh out of everyone further breaking the tension of the moment.

"But we're all freaks together,"* Finn told them, as he heard footsteps approaching him. He glanced at Kurt as he continued. "And we shouldn't have to hide it,"* he said, knowing that Kurt would read more meaning into that than any of the other Glee Club members would. The smile on Kurt's face told Finn that the other teen understood the deeper meaning to the statement.

Slow clapping could be heard coming closer to the group. As the teens turned and parted, Mr. Schuester joined the group.

"Nice job, Finn. I think you just figured out what the lesson was. Kind of makes me wish I had planned it,"* he told the gathered teens, causing more laughter as Will looked around at his kids. He was proud of them all right then. "But Mercedes is right. You do all look incredibly insane."*

The announcement was greeted by a chorus of thank-yous.

"You're so welcome. Anyway, let's get back to work before you're all forced to join the circus,"* Mr. Schuester told them, taking hold of Artie's wheelchair and heading back in the direction of the choir room. "Next stop, Regionals!"*

Following their director, the members of Glee all cheered as they headed back for the choir room. Behind the rest of the group, Finn and Kurt fell in step beside each other.

"Nice costume," Kurt commented, reaching over to touch the shoulder piece of the dress.

"Yeah, mom did a great job given the time constraints," Finn replied as he reached out to pat Kurt on the shoulder.

"Careful. I've already had to fix this outfit a couple times this week."

"Sorry, dude," Finn replied, as the two kept walking. As they reached the choir room and their peers started disappearing inside, Finn reached out again, this time grabbing for Kurt's arm and a part of the costume that he couldn't ruin. "Kurt, hold up a second."

Kurt paused and turned to face him, a questioning look in his eyes as he gazed up at the other teen. Finn waited until everyone else had disappeared into the choir room before speaking again.

"We still need to talk about this," Finn told him. "Calmly and without any sarcastic defensive measures."

Kurt nodded his head in agreement.

"How about we grab dinner at Breadstixs tonight and talk."

"You sure you want to be seen there with me? Who knows what rumors might start circulating tomorrow," Kurt responded instinctually.

"Kurt, what did we just agree to."

"Right, no sarcasm. Sorry," the shorter teen replied as he glanced away from Finn.

"And for the record, let them say whatever they want. We're just two friends grabbing something to eat together while we talk. Besides, I think Karofsky and Azimio will have enough ammunition just from this outfit."

"Okay," Kurt replied, looking back up at Finn as he nodded before turning to head into the choir room.

"And who knows, perhaps our parents will take advantage of us not being around to make dinner plans of their own," Finn said, following Kurt into the choir room where Mr. Schuester was getting rehearsal started.

***Dialogue taken from "Theatricality"**


	6. A Needed Conversation

AN: So, a day late. I did better at remembering this time. This is my personal favorite chapter. I had a blast writing it. Hope you enjoy it!

* * *

After taking some time to change to normal clothes and inform their parents of their plans, Kurt and Finn met as planned. As it was a Friday evening, Breadstix was packed with both couples and families enjoying a meal out together. After a short wait, characterized by an awkward silence as they stood near the doors of the restaurant, Finn and Kurt were shown to a booth near the back of the place. Despite his bravado earlier about not caring what other kids said about the two of them eating together back at the school, Finn had to admit that he was relieved to be surrounded by older couples and families with little kids. The noisy chatter of the kids also limited the possibility of their conversation being overheard.

The waitress, a blonde, teenage girl name Sandra, soon arrived at their table. Finn noticed that she smiled flirtatiously at Kurt while she took their drink order. For his part, Kurt seemed oblivious to the attention.

As Sandra disappeared, the two teens turned their attention to their menus, neither quite ready to address the topic that had really brought them there. Even after he had decided what he was going to order, Finn found himself looking intently at the menu for something to do. He had never felt so relieved by the appearance of a waitress in his life.

"Have you gentlemen decided what you would like?" Sandra asked sweetly as she placed their glasses on the table in front of them. She glanced briefly at Finn before focusing her smile on Kurt.

"I'll have the Apricot Chicken with mashed potatoes and the vegetables please," Kurt replied politely, still oblivious to Sandra's charms.

"A fine choice," Sandra replied, smiling bigger as her eyes lingered on Kurt for a little longer before finally turning to Finn. "And you?"

"Just a cheeseburger, well done."

"Sure thing," Sandra replied. As the waitress turned to leave she let her fingertips brush casually up against Kurt's arm.

Kurt felt the touch and shot a slightly annoyed look at their waitress' back as she walked away. The look was too much for Finn, who started laughing at the whole exchange.

"I'm not sure what you're finding so amusing over there," Kurt stated, his voice showing his annoyance as he gazed across the table at Finn.

"The waitress so has a thing for you and you don't even realize it," Finn said, grinning as he brought his laughter under control.

"She does not," Kurt protested, even as he looked over his shoulder in the direction the waitress had gone. He spotted her standing by another table that had flagged her down. While he was watching, Sandra happened to look back in his direction and caught him looking. The blonde waitress gave him a wink before turning her full attention back to her other customers.

"You're right, she does," Kurt said, turning back around. He slouched down in the booth. "Figures I attract people who I can't possible have any interest in," he commented. "Just like I fall for people, I don't have any chance at all with."

Kurt reached out and grasped his straw, slowly making circles in his ice tea. He kept his eye on the straw unable to bring himself to look in Finn's direction right then, knowing the other teen would know what he was referring to with the last comment.

"You'll find someone eventually. My mom has always said that there is someone out there for everyone."

"Let's hope she's right," Kurt said, forcing a smile. "But this wasn't the conversation we came here to have," he added, wanting to change the subject.

"No, it wasn't," Finn replied. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Even though he had made an attempt to apologize yesterday, Finn felt that another one was necessary especially given that Kurt hadn't been receptive to the previous one. "Kurt, I really am sorry about using that word around you. I never should have said it, or gotten so upset over the room."

"The room was overly gaudy," Kurt commented, trying to deflect attention from the first part of Finn's apology. The nightmare where Finn replaced Karofsky and Azimio with the bully and called him a fag had occurred again. Hearing that word repeated in his dreams was bad enough. He didn't want to deal with the memory of the real thing. "I'm in the process of undoing everything. Hopefully I can return most of the stuff and the things I can't I'll probably just throw out."

"Kurt, the real problem wasn't the room, although I will agree to it being gaudy. Can we stop dwelling on that and deal with the real problem? I'm trying to apologize-"

"I don't think I can ever forgive you for saying what you did," Kurt said, cutting Finn off.

Finn was taken by surprise by the statement. Kurt had always seemed so forgiving. To hear him say that he couldn't forgive something let it sink in just how hurt the other teen had been by the incident, despite trying to defend Finn to his father.

Reaching out, Kurt took one of the complimentary bread sticks from the basket that had been placed on the table when they first arrived, not that he had much of an appetite.

"I would like us to move past the whole thing though," Kurt ventured, breaking the bread stick in half. "Despite wanting to split our parents up not long ago, I don't want that now. Your mom makes my Dad smile, and since my . . . well, that isn't something that used to happen too often."

"Your Dad makes my mom happy too. I didn't realize how much until I saw how upset the idea of losing him made her. I hate the idea of being the reason she loses that happiness."

"Well, at least we're in agreement on something," Kurt commented, placing one half of the bread stick down on the small plate that had been provided. Instead of taking a bit from the other half though, he absentmindedly broke it in half again.

Finn nodded as he picked up his glass. He took a sip of coke as he thought about what to say next. Placing the glass back on the table, he gazed across at Kurt. He knew, as well as Kurt did, that in order for their parents to stay together the two of them had to be able to get along. Burt had already shown how fiercely protective he would get over anything thing that upset Kurt, and on a certain level Finn had a feeling his mom would react the same way. "I think that in order for the two us to be able to move past this, I need to know why you can't forgive me. What made what I said, after all the stuff that other people say to you, so unforgivable?"

"Because _you_ said it," Kurt replied, saying it as if that was all the explanation that was needed.

Finn looked across the table at Kurt blankly, not quite understanding what the other teen was saying. He figured he must have been wearing his confusion on his face because Kurt continued without prompting.

"I told you before, Azimio and Karofsky's opinion don't matter to me because I have no respect for them. They're going to spend their life here in Lima wishing they could hold onto their high school days where they tricked themselves into thinking they were the kings. They bully people because they're insecure with who they are and are under the delusion that the fear they create earns them respect. It doesn't it just makes them bullies. Why should I care what they think about me? But you're different Finn, or at least I thought you were. You inspire people to follow you. You lead by example not just telling other people what to do."

"Not all the time. Sometimes, it's just easier to go along with the crowd. Like the eggs or the pee balloons."

"Nobody's perfect," Kurt said with a shrug of his shoulders. "But my point is Finn, what you say does matter to me and not just because . . . " Kurt paused and glanced around the restaurant, making sure that no one was paying attention to their discussion. Though everyone appeared engrossed in their own conversations, Kurt still lowered his voice when he continued. "And not just because I _had _a crush on you. And you're right that was the reason that I introduced our parents and was excited about you and your mom moving in. Sometimes it's easier to live in my fantasy world than face reality."

The two boys fell silent as their waitress approached the table with their meals. Sandra placed the plates with the entrees in front of their respective purchasers, starting with Kurt's apricot chicken.

"Is there anything else you need?" she asked Finn as she let go of the plate holding the burger.

"No. I'm good. Thank-you."

"How about you, sweetie?" Sandra asked, her voice taking on a lilt as she glanced back at Kurt and gave him a big smile.

"No, I'm fine," Kurt replied, refusing to look up from the meal she had placed in front of him.

"I'll check back later then," Sandra told them, turning to go check on another table.

As soon as he thought she was out of hearing range, Finn started to laugh as he reached for the bottle of ketchup to douse his fries with.

"I'm glad you think this is funny. Should I tell her?"

"Why? You probably won't see her again after tonight," Finn replied, getting his laughter under control. Not to mention, if Kurt told her he was gay who knew what kind of conclusion their waitress would come to concerning the both of them. "If anyone should be upset, it's me, what with a pretty girl like that taking an interest in you over me."

"Very funny," Kurt muttered, unwrapping his silverware from the cloth napkin. He spread the napkin over his lap and then picked up his fork and knife and began cutting up the chicken.

Across the table from him, Finn had already taken a huge bit of his burger as he was starving. Even as he chewed the burger, he was still thinking about Kurt's comment about being easier to live in a fantasy world.

Finn had to admit that he did have things pretty good. Sure, he had taken some flak about joining Glee and his girlfriend had cheated on him but compared to what he had seen Kurt have to go through on a daily basis, those things seemed kind of minor. He had never had trouble making friends. He managed to get by in his classes, though just barely. He was starting quarterback in his sophomore year. He hadn't gotten anyone pregnant, the only real upside to finding out that Quinn had cheated on him. He had respect from a lot of his peers, apparently more than he thought from what Kurt said, and he had a mother who loved him and cared enough about him to be involved in his life. Even though there were times he resented that involvement, he realized he was lucky as some of his friends had two parents who seemed to only notice their kids when something went wrong.

~_And I did have a decent guy who was willing to be a father figure in my life until I screwed that up, _~ Finn added silently.

Taking another bite of his burger, Finn looked across the table at Kurt who was looking down at his plate. Even with all the attention the other teen was giving his food, even Finn could tell he hadn't really eaten much yet. He had a feeling that the piece of chicken Kurt was currently chewing on was the only bite he had taken.

Looking across the table at Kurt, Finn realized that Kurt had changed quite a bit during the past school year. Though he hadn't realized it before, Finn realized that Kurt had started coming out of the invisible shell he had hid within last year and the years before that, and it wasn't just coming out about his sexuality. Kurt had always been the quiet kid in the classroom, who never tried to draw attention to himself. He had never spoken up in a classroom unless called upon and when given the choice to work on a project alone or with a partner, Kurt had always worked alone. Finn remembered one group project in eighth grade that Kurt was in his group, and the other teen had simply gone along with the rest of the group - just like he had during the boys vs. girls competition in Glee this year.

That had changed somewhere along the way this year though. He had English with Kurt and the teacher always seemed impressed with the insight Kurt expressed during their discussion on their reading assignments. He had become more vocal in Glee. Had tried out for the football team and joined the Cheerios. Kurt had stood up to Mr. Schuester about being allowed to try out for the "Defying Gravity" solo against Rachel. And though he was good friends with Mercedes, Tina and even Rachel now, sitting across the table from him Kurt still seemed lonely.

Finn knew he could never return the feelings that Kurt had for him, he simply did not play for the same team as Kurt, but perhaps his mom was right. Maybe instead of being put off by the idea, perhaps he should feel flattered that someone felt that way about him and extend to Kurt something that he could offer - friendship. You could never have too many friends and despite not really being a friend to the other teen, Kurt had shown him more loyalty this year then even his so-called best friend had.

Finishing the bite in his mouth, Finn decided it was time to take a break from eating and wade back into the conversation that they had been having.

"I think I understand why what I said hurt so much and even if you can't forgive me, I do want to say again that I'm really sorry about what I said. I was upset and I wasn't thinking."

Across the table Kurt nodded his acknowledgment of the words even as he stabbed a piece of chicken forcefully than was necessary and put it in his mouth so he would have an excuse not to say anything.

"So, I guess the question here is how do we move past this. I don't think either one of us want to be the reason that our parents' breakup."

Kurt swallowed the chicken. "At least that is one thing that we can agree on."

"So do you and I try being friends?" Finn asked, picking up a fry.

"By friends do you mean, friends while in Glee Club and with our parents but you ignore me the rest of the time?" Kurt asked, a bit of his defensive sarcasm creeping back into his voice.

Finn met Kurt's gaze across the table. "Okay, so I deserved that and no that's not what I mean. I realize we're not going to magically start hanging out and doing things together - our interests are just too different for that. However, I think we could start acknowledging each other in the hallways or in class. I mean I've sat behind you in English class all year and we've barely said two words to one another. And who knows, maybe we'll figure out we do have more interests in common. After all, I would have never pegged you to be a decent football player."

"I played kicker for what, five games."

Finn shrugged his shoulders. "So? You scored the winning point for the only game we won all season and actually made every kick you attempted. That's not an easy feat. Why do you think I tried to convince you to come back with the rest of us? But no, instead you go and join the cheerleaders."

"I don't think most of the football team really wanted me back on the team."

Finn couldn't argue with that. With the exception of the other Glee Club members no one did want Kurt back on the team - mostly because they could see how much natural talent he had and they felt threatened by that.

"Besides, I only joined in the first place because I was trying to be someone I wasn't in front of my Dad. I thought I had to hide who I was so he would be proud of me and then Brittany went and said I was on the football team. I was already lying to him about one thing and I didn't want to be lying about something else. I just wanted him to be proud of me. Turns out he already suspected I was gay."

"Yeah, he wasn't the only one. A lot of us had you pegged before you started to admit it," Finn said, before taking a bit of his hamburger.

"How's everything going?" Sandra asked, as she walked up to their table.

Though she was addressing both of them, Finn noticed that she had eyes only for Kurt. The countertenor meanwhile had become very interested in his meal as he methodically stabbed vegetables from the plate. Figuring that Kurt wasn't about to make any kind of reply, Finn spoke up for the both of them.

"Could you get us refills on the drinks, please?" Finn requested, as his glass was empty and Kurt's was almost empty.

"Sure thing," Sandra replied, a hint of annoyance creeping into her voice.

"Did you have to give her a reason to come back?" Kurt muttered.

"As I need some more soda, yes I did. You could always disappear to the bathroom so you're not here when she comes back."

"That's not a bad idea," Kurt replied, sliding out of the booth.

Finn couldn't repress a laugh as Kurt walked away from the table. _~Sandra is going to be very disappointed when she comes back, _~ Finn thought as he turned his attention to his burger. He thought over the conversation some. It definitely hadn't gone the way he had hoped, but at least it had gone better than the conversation the day before. Kurt was talking to him now and with any luck they could move past this and maybe one day Kurt would be able to forgive him.

It wasn't long before Sandra came back with the drinks. With barely a word, she deposited them on the table and went about waiting on other tables. It wasn't long afterwards that Kurt slipped back into the booth across from him. When Kurt started talking about Glee Club's upcoming Regionals competition, Finn didn't fight it. If Kurt didn't want to continue their previous conversation then he was more than happy to let it go. Hopefully it would be the first step to moving past it.

Now that things were on the mend with Kurt, it was time that Finn figured out a way to approach Mr. Hummel. As angry as Kurt's father had been the night he had kicked him out, the McKinley quarterback didn't think that showing up at the Hummel home was the best way to go about it. That left the garage.

~_If I time it right, at least there will be witnesses there_, ~ Finn thought as he finished munching on his fries.


	7. Glimpse into Their World

_AN: yeah, so my updating weekly isn't working well. Sorry. Hope you all enjoy this chapter._

* * *

Burt took note of his son's Navigator as he pulled into the driveway, indicating that Kurt had already gotten home from hanging out with whatever friend he had been out with. Kurt had been vague about his impromptu plans when he had called, which led Burt to think that it was Finn he was going to be around as usually his son was forthright with him about his activities. Then when Carol had called and asked him if he wanted to grab dinner seeing as their kids were hanging out tonight, his suspicions had been confirmed. Burt wasn't at all sure how he felt about that idea but he hadn't pressed the issue. Kurt was old enough and mature enough to make his own decisions. After all, he had been allowing Kurt to stay home by himself after school for the last three years. A year before that Kurt had started cooking weekday dinners. Hell, most mornings the only reason they both got up was because of Kurt.

"He's definitely had to grow up way too fast," Burt muttered to himself as he made his way up the front walk.

Letting himself into the house, Burt heard strains of piano music filling the air. He took a few steps into the house, pushing the door shut behind him, and just listened to the music for a moment. Ever since he was little, not even able to yet reach the pedals as his mother sat beside him on the piano bench, Burt had always been able to tell what kind of mood Kurt was in by the songs he chose to play. It was just another way that Kurt was like his mother. Though he wouldn't describe the song his son was currently playing as happy, it was at least more upbeat than the music that had filled the house the evening before. Burt had thought he was at a funeral at one point and though he had long ago promised Kathleen to never ask Kurt to stop practicing his music for any reason, last night he had been sorely tempted to do just that.

Reaching the doorway of the living room, Burt leaned against the door jam and watched his son at the piano. He had spent many hours in this exact position watching Kathleen at the piano. As soon as Kurt was able to sit by himself, he was up on the bench beside her, his eyes watching her fingers dance over the keys in childish fascination. He had even taken a picture of the two of them in that position at one point - a picture that was currently tucked safely in the top drawer of his bureau. It hadn't taken him long to learn that Kathleen and Kurt were going to have a bond that he could never understand. As he got older, Burt had tried to get Kurt interested in sports so that he could have a bond with their son too. It had never really taken as Kurt would rather be inside at the piano then outside playing sports. Though there had been times when he had resented that, these days he cherished it as he got to see a piece of his first true love in their son.

Burt didn't realize the music had stopped until Kurt spoke up.

"Did you want to watch television, Dad?" Kurt asked, looking over his shoulder at him.

"Not if you want to keep playing," Burt replied, pushing himself off the door jam and walking further into the room. He settled into his favorite easy chair, conveniently placed in a spot that he could see both the tv and the piano without difficultly.

Kurt smiled at that answer. "Got any requests?"

"No. You go ahead and pick something."

His son nodded and turned back to face the instrument, long fingers poised over the ivory keys. Kurt tilted his head slightly to the side as he thought of a song to play. Smiling to himself, he started playing one that he knew his father would appreciate.

Burt recognized Poison's "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" before three measures of the song was played. Though they had taken a lot of razzing from friends claiming that it wasn't at all romantic, he and Kathleen had picked that as their song. Perhaps it was because the two of them could identify with the spirit of the lyrics given their rocky start at the beginning. Like an idiot he had messed things up two months into their relationship and almost lost her to another guy. In the end though, he had won her back, though to this day he still wondered what she saw in him back then. They had even decided to dance the first dance at their wedding to that song. He could still remember the first day he had heard Kurt practicing the song.

_Coming into the house after changing the oil in his truck, Burt wasn't surprised to hear piano music floating through the air. Nor was he surprised at the hesitancy and roughness of the music as his son struggled through the notes of some song that Kathleen was teaching him. _

_Kurt was nowhere near tall enough to reach the pedals, his feet would have dangled from the bench if not for the footstool his mother had placed beneath his feet so that he could learn correct posture right from the beginning; the boy had already learned the notes. He ran through the scales from memory already and could play quite a few songs quite well already. It was obvious to Burt that today Kathleen was teaching him a new song. As he walked toward the living room, it didn't take Burt long to recognize the familiar song being butchered by Kurt - "Every Rose Has It's Thorn." _

_At the sound of his footsteps on the living room's hardwood floor, Kathleen looked up from the piano as Kurt determinedly plugged away at the song._

"_Isn't that song a little too advanced for him?" Burt questioned, although he really had no clue about anything when it came to music. He was probably the only kid to actually have ever failed a music class._

_Kathleen flashed him one of her thousand watt smiles that lit up her eyes. "I think it's important that he learn a song that is special to us and how it symbolizes our love for each other. Besides, a little bit of a challenge never hurt anyone," she replied, though even she cringed at the sour note that came from the piano at exactly that moment. Returning her attention to the little boy beside her, she gently gave him instruction._

_Burt just smiled as he continued through the living room to their bedroom to shower and change. He would be happy when the piano wasn't quite so challenging for his little boy._

Ten years later even a musical dunce like Burt could recognize the progress that had been made. Kurt's rendition of the song now, from memory, was flawless. The teen was even singing along to the music. As he thought about Kathleen, Burt was thankful that she had taught their son how to play 'their song'.

He thought about Carole, with whom he had just shared a nice dinner with at the Italian restaurant downtown, and wondered if the two of them would ever have a song and what it might be. Despite the rocky patch they had hit, Burt still wanted things to work out and he had faith that they would. He had a history with rough starts to relationships but as his marriage to Kathleen had proven, even rough waters at the beginning could lead to smooth sailing later.

As the last strains of the song drifted into silence, Kurt reached up and slowly closed the lid, protecting the keys from dust. "I've got homework to do," Kurt said, as he turned around on the bench to face his dad, his eyes bright with unshed tears.

"Okay," Burt replied easily. Though he noticed the tears in his son's eyes threatening to fall, he didn't make any mention of them, still awkward with sharing emotions with his son after all these years. Just one of the many reasons he wished Kathleen was still here and knew that Kurt would benefit from having Carole in his life. "How was dinner?" Burt asked, hesitant to mention that he knew Kurt had been with Finn. He wasn't sure why Kurt was being secretive about the whole thing and given his son's mood the last couple of days Burt really didn't want to take the chance of stirring up more trouble.

"Fine," Kurt replied as he got to his feet. "Did you enjoy your dinner with Carole?" Kurt asked, having listened to the phone message his father had left him before driving home.

"Yes. It was an enjoyable evening. You should know that Carole and I have decided to continue seeing each other despite recent events," Burt told him, watching Kurt closely as he tried to gauge his son's reaction to the announcement. It was a relief to him when he saw Kurt's posture relax some.

"I'm glad. You deserve someone nice in your life, Dad," Kurt replied, his sincerity coming out in his words. "I really should go do my homework."

Burt nodded, watching as his son made a retreat from the room. _~I really do suck at all this emotional crap, ~_ he thought as he reached for the remote to turn the evening news on.

* * *

It was just passing eleven o'clock when Finn finally climbed on his bicycle for the long ride down to Burt's tire shop in downtown Lima. Finn had never been a morning person, and so even though he had set his alarm clock to get up early that morning, a rarity for a Saturday unless he had something sport related to go to, he was getting a late start. His mother had already headed to the hospital for a twelve-hour shift, so Finn stuck some frozen waffles in the toaster. He had eaten hurriedly, wanting to leave to talk to Burt before he had a chance to talk himself out of attempting an apology.

As he came down the street toward the garage, Finn saw two cop cars, lights flashing, parked out front of the garage. Pedaling faster, he was soon coming to a stop next to one of them. From the looks of things, the police were just finishing up and getting ready to leave. There was only one other mechanic other than Burt in sight, Mac Larson, who Finn had quickly learned was Burt's second hand man. Besides the lack of mechanics, the other thing that caught Finn's attention was the large red letters on the bay door to the garage that was still closed. The message, 'burn in hell fag', made it clear to the teen why the cops were on site. Finn stood staring at the words, feeling like the waffles he'd had for breakfast were going to come back up. The sound of Burt Hummel's voice brought his attention away from the spray painted words.

"I don't really care what excuse you use Lana, but I need you to distract him for the afternoon. I don't want Kurt seeing this," Burt said into the cell phone he was holding to his ear. The stress in his voice was evident, even if the hand massaging the back of his neck hadn't given it away to begin with. The garage owner was currently standing in front of Kurt's black Navigator instead of his own dark blue pick-up.

Finn wasn't sure who Burt was talking to, not recognizing the first name, but he assumed it was probably either Mercedes' or Tina's mom as they were the two people that Kurt seemed to spend the most time with outside of school. He wasn't sure what the person on the other end of the phone was saying but they must have agreed because Burt was thanking them and saying good-bye.

Ending the call, Burt let the hand holding the phone, fall to his side. Glancing around, he noticed Finn's arrival for the first time.

"What are you doing here?" Burt demanded, not looking at all pleased at seeing the unexpected visitor.

Finn gulped, everything he had rehearsed saying to Burt Hummel while laying in bed the night before forgotten. This was definitely not how he envisioned things going. "Well, um, sir, I was sort of hoping I could talk to you. Um, apologize really."

Burt's expression softened slightly at the teen's apparent nervousness. "I don't think this is a good time, Finn," he replied, his gaze involuntarily going to the words written in red on his garage door. The fact that some punk kids decided to redecorate his garage pissed him off all on its own. The fact that their choice in redecoration was a direct threat against his son only angered him further. If he knew who was responsible for this he wouldn't have bothered to involve the police.

Burt looked back in Finn's direction. The teen took a step back from the intensity of the older man's glare.

"You know anything about this?" Burt asked, pointing toward the words. He didn't really think Finn would have participated in the act of vandalism, there was a possibility he had overheard others talking about it as Burt knew some of the football players had been involved in harassing Kurt at school before.

"No, sir," Finn said quickly. Part of him wanted to flee but his feet stayed firmly rooted to where he was standing. He almost felt as if he would need Burt's permission to leave at this point.

Finn watched in silence as Burt turned his back on him. As much as he wanted to leave, Finn knew that if he did at this point he would never be able to look the older man in the eyes again. This was the time to show Burt that he could be that 'new generation of dude' that the older man had made reference to the other night. So, instead of running, Finn took a deep breath, exhaled slowly and spoke up.

"Could you use some help cleaning up or repainting or something?" Finn asked, hoping that he didn't sound as hesitant as he felt.

Burt turned back to look at Finn. As angry as he was, at both the current situation and Finn's choice of words a few days ago, Burt had to admit the fact that Finn was still hanging around earned the kid points. Offering to help somebody who had just kicked you out of their home a few days ago earned him a few more. That action alone showed him that Finn wanted to try to make things right more than any verbal apology the teen could have come up with.

"Yeah. I could use some help," Burt replied. He looked over at the words again. "I'm going to have to try painting over it," he said, knowing that trying to clean the spray paint off the door at this point was going to be a lost cause.

"Hey, Boss," Mac said, walking up to the pair as the cop cars finally drove off. "Do you want me to go to the hardware store and get paint?"

Burt turned to his employee and shook his head. "No. I'll take care of it. Why don't you see what you can get done with the cars that should have been worked on today," he told the mechanic. Burt had sent the other guys that should have been on today home as he hadn't seen the point of them hanging around with nothing to do while the police took his statement and processed the scene when they could be home with families on a Saturday instead. Mac had refused to go.

"You got it, Boss," Mac replied, turning and heading into the garage, leaving Finn and Burt standing outside.

Finn stood quietly not sure what to say or if he should say anything else. He felt like he was on very shaky ground right now. It was Burt that broke the silence.

"You coming to the hardware store with me?"

"Ah, yes sir," Finn replied.

Burt gave a cursory nod in acknowledgment. "Get in then," he said, waving a hand toward Kurt's Navigator.

As he climbed in behind the wheel, his cell phone rang. As Finn fastened the seatbelt of the passenger seat, Burt glanced down at the screen of the phone he still held. He saw his son's name on the screen.

"Hey, Kurt. What's up kiddo?" Burt asked.

In the passenger seat, Finn listened to Burt's side of the conversation. From what Burt was saying, Finn deduced that Kurt was asking for permission to do something with Mercedes despite being expected at the garage.

"No, go ahead and go, Kurt," Burt said, trying to sound nonchalant about it. "I know you wanted to see that musical and if Mercedes has an extra ticket you might as well keep her company."

There was a slight pause as Burt listened to what Kurt was saying.

"Don't worry about it. I've got the car at the garage with me today so I'll just go ahead and change the oil and rotate the tires like we planned to do this afternoon. If I need help, I'm sure I can get Mac to give me a hand. You have fun, Kurt."

Burt paused again.

"I love you, too," Burt said, before ending the call.

Placing the phone in one of the cup holders between the two seats, Burt closed his eyes, letting out a sigh of relief. When he opened his eyes, he looked over at Finn. "Not a word of what happened here this morning to, Kurt. He doesn't need to know about this. I may not be able to protect him from everything but I will shield him from anything I possibly can."

"Not a word. Got it," Finn replied quickly, not about to cross Burt on the subject. The lecture in the basement was bad enough the first time. Finn had no intentions of repeating that experience any time soon. There was one flaw in the plan that the teen could see. "What if Kurt sees something about it in the paper. I mean the police were here, at the very least the call is going to appear in the police blotter."

"The only time I've seen Kurt pick up a newspaper is when he's looking for an article for some school project," Burt replied, digging the key for his son's vehicle out of his pocket. Sliding the key into the ignition, he turned it, bringing the engine to life. "And if he should happen to find out through the paper then I will cross that bridge when I come to it."

"Okay," Finn replied, not sure what else to say but feeling the need to make some type of acknowledgment. He hadn't been sure what to expect when he had left home this morning but this scenario had definitely never crossed his mind.

* * *

As he finished putting the first coat of paint on the garage door, Finn took a step back. A second coat would definitely need to be applied, but between the coat of primer and the first coat of paint, the red letters were at least no longer visible. The teen glanced over at the man he had worked beside silently all day, both with the painting project and work in the garage. They had even changed the oil in Kurt's Navigator while waiting for the second coat of primer to dry. Though Burt was calmer than he had been that morning, Finn could tell that the older man was still upset. Still, the Titan quarterback felt like it might be a good time to attempt to make the apology he had come here to make in the first place.

"It'll do for now," Burt said, stating his own opinion of the state of their project. "I can put a second coat of paint on either tomorrow or Monday. At least those words aren't visible anymore." He glanced over at Finn as they both began to clean up the area. "Thanks for your help, Finn."

"You're welcome," Finn replied. "About the other day, sir, I really am sorry. You were right. I shouldn't have used the word that I did. It's no different from the other examples you pointed out."

"I'm not the one you need to be apologizing to," Burt replied sounding a bit annoyed. He refused to look in the teen's direction.

"Well, not the only one I need to apologize to," Finn ventured, "but I do owe you an apology. I mean after all you invited my mom and me into your home and I wasn't exactly grateful for that. I never meant any disrespect to you or Kurt. I just wasn't thinking."

"Yeah, well these punks were thinking," Burt said fiercely, pointing toward the freshly pointed garage door. "They deliberately wrote that threat on the garage door, and I've got to assume that it isn't just some sick joke, because if it isn't and something happened then I wouldn't be able to live with myself. You know every parent worries about their kid every time they leave home - whether it be for school or to hang out with friends. That's just part of being a parent, but most parents don't have to worry about their kid being beaten to death because of who they are. Because of who they fall in love with. The only time I don't have to worry about that is when he's at home with me. The older he gets, that time gets less and less and I won't let anything disturb what precious time we do have."

"I totally get that," Finn, said. It was taking all of his strength of will not to break the current eye contact with Burt Hummel but he felt that his words wouldn't mean anything if he looked away. "I didn't a few days ago, but after today, I do. Seeing those words on the garage this morning made me sick to my stomach and I can only imagine how you would feel about them. Believe me sir, I never meant any harm."

"Maybe not Finn, but you did. Kurt wouldn't talk about it, but I could see that what you said hurt him."

"I know," Finn replied. "Look sir, I'm ashamed of what I said the other day." Finn paused, debating on whether or not to expand that. Did he really want Burt Hummel to know there were other incidents between him and Kurt if he didn't already know about them? Deciding that complete honesty was the best route he decided to at least allude to them. "And I'm ashamed of some other things that I've done in the past. I can't change what I've said and done though. All I can do is change what I say and do from now on, and I promise you that I'm going to try to be a better teammate and friend to Kurt from now on."

There was no immediate response to Finn's words. Instead Finn and Burt just stood looking at one another for a few moments, the sounds of Mac and another mechanic who had come in a couple hours ago to help out working in the garage, were the only sounds. Finally, Burt nodded and broke the silence.

"I accept your apology. Like I said, I'm not too proud of my actions when I was your age either. Guess it isn't right for me to expect you not to make a few yourself. This is the only free pass you get on this subject though."

"Got it," Finn replied quickly, feeling as if a huge weight was being lifted off his shoulders.

Burt looked toward the garage, where Kurt's black Navigator was still up on he lift from the earlier oil change that had been complete.

"Got time to help me rotate the tires?" Burt asked, nodding toward the vehicle.

Finn let a small smile come to his face as he replied, "I'd be happy to, sir."


	8. Changes

AN: So I'm back from my Disney/Universal vacation and finally got the edits done to this chapter! Hope you all enjoy!

* * *

Finn walked through the door of his home earlier than he usually did. Basketball season had already ended, the Titans not making playoffs, and Mr. Schuester had cancelled Glee practice due to the Cheerios leaving school early this afternoon to head for Nationals. To his surprise the aroma of dinner already wafted through the house. Finn inhaled the scent deeply, his stomach rumbling at the thought of the delicious smelling food.

Dropping his backpack on the floor next to the door, Finn headed for the kitchen. To his surprise, his mother wasn't there. The light on the crock pot though told him that the device was on. Crossing over to the counter, Finn lifted the lid to check out what his mom was cooking. Looking inside, he found chicken and dumplings bubbling slowly within. The hungry teen took one more whiff of the concoction before replacing the lid.

Grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, Finn went in search of his mom. He found her in her bedroom. To his surprise she was packing clothes into a bag.

"Are you going somewhere?" Finn asked, leaning against the door jam.

His mom looked over her shoulder at him. "Hi, Finn," she greeted. "With the cheerleading Nationals being held in Cincinnati this year, Burt decided to go and support Kurt. He asked me to join him, so we're going to drive down tonight and stay at a hotel." Carole paused before continuing. "You're welcome to join us if you want to," she told him. Her voice gave away her opinion that her son wouldn't want to come to the cheerleading competition with them.

Finn couldn't blame his mother for making that assumption given the fact that he had dated Quinn since they started high school and had never once gone to one of her competitions. His hesitancy at going had been that he knew his fellow football teammates would not have seen that activity as macho, even if the cheerleaders worked just as hard as any of the other athletes in the school. Personally, Finn had doubts he would make it through one of Coach Sylvester's practices, even without his two left feet. Going to a cheerleading competition, even if he was dating the head cheerleader, would have led to ribbing from his teammates though. After being in Glee this year, and the extra time he had spent with Kurt, Finn's teammates had plenty of ammunition as it was. He didn't see how going to Nationals to support Kurt and the other Glee members on the squad would make much difference.

"I think I will," Finn told her. "What time do we leave?"

"Really?" Carole asked, unable to hide her surprise. She recovered quickly though. "Burt will be here a five to eat dinner with us. He wants to leave by six."

"Okay. I guess I should go put some things together then," Finn told her, turning to leave. He took one step and then turned back to face her. "I'm not going to be crowding you guys, am I?" Finn asked self-consciously. Personally he didn't want to think too much about the idea of his mom spending time alone with any man but he also didn't want to ruin the relationship his mom had with Burt. He figured he had put enough strain on it in recent weeks as it was.

Carole smiled. "No, you won't. Burt booked two hotel rooms as he was hopeful you'd join us. He and I will share one room and you can have the other."

"Cool," he said with a shrug, refusing to even let himself think about what the two adults sharing a hotel room would mean.

"Pack for two nights. We were planning on coming back Sunday like the team as the competition could go late tomorrow night."

"Got it," Finn replied as he headed for the front door to retrieve his backpack before heading to his room to pack. This definitely was not how he anticipated spending his weekend but who knew, maybe he would enjoy himself. And if he got too bored at the competition he was sure he could convince his mother to let him got back to the hotel room to work on homework.

Kurt had never felt so exhausted in his life. If he thought Coach Sylvester was intense back at McKinley, she was ten times as worse the ever before Nationals. They had easily practiced longer than any other squad there for the competition. Not only was he tired, but Kurt didn't think he could manage to sing one more note even if she had wanted him too. There was no doubt that the French lyrics to Celine Dion's songs were going to haunt him in his sleep tonight.

The male cheerleader made a beeline for the first bed as he walked into the hotel room he had to himself. Kurt hadn't had a hard time convincing the school that it was the best arrangement as he claimed he didn't feel safe rooming with the guys and the school itself wasn't keen on him sharing a hotel room with the girls. Reaching the bed, Kurt put his back to the bed and let himself flop down, his weary muscles thankful for the rest. The respite was short-lived though as there was a knock on his door. With a sigh, Kurt got to his feet, pretty sure he knew who was going to be on the other side.

After glancing quickly through the peep hole, Kurt opened the door. "Hey, Quinn. Come on in," he said, stepping aside so that the pregnant teen, with her small duffel bag in hand, could come into the room.

"Are you sure about this, Kurt?" she asked, standing only a few steps in the room. "We could get in a lot of trouble if we're caught."

Having let the door close, Kurt slid the dead bolt in place this time before turning to face his guest. "It'll be fine. No one is going to know. No one on the team is going to come make a social call to me and have you ever known Coach Sylvester to come pay social visits to her students?"

"A very good point," Quin said, visibly relaxing at the other teen's assurances. "I really appreciate this, Kurt. Even though I'm no longer on the squad I really want to see you all win tomorrow."

"Well, according to Coach Sylvester with our secret weapon, we're a shoe-in for first place."

"Secret weapon?"

"Me singing in French," Kurt told her. "Assuming I don't lose my voice from all the singing I just did during practice."

Quinn smiled at that, her body aching at just the memory of Coach Sylvester's killer practices. It was amazing how much she missed them after all the grumbling she had done about them with Santana and Brittany before she lost her spot on the squad.

"Make yourself at home," Kurt said with a wave toward the main part of the room. "You probably want to take the bed closest to the window as I've already collapsed on the first bed with this sweaty uniform on."

"Thanks for the warning," Quinn replied, wrinkling her nose as she walked toward the second bed.

"I'm going to go take a shower before I lie back down and don't want to get back up," Kurt told her. He grabbed some clothes and his toiletries bag and disappeared into the bathroom.

Left alone, Quinn placed her duffel bag on the bed and then climbed up on top of the comforter. After propping the pillows up against the headboard, she grabbed the tv remote and started flipping through the channels, looking for something interesting to watch. She had settled on "27 Seven Dresses" and was at the part where Jane was modeling her myriad collection of bridesmaids dresses when Kurt emerged from the bathroom, clad in a grey off the shoulder sweatshirt and matching sweat pants.

"I love this movie!" Kurt said excitedly as he eased himself down on the end of his bed. Though the hot water of the shower had loosened his muscles up, now that he was out of the steamed up environment of the bathroom he could feel his shoulders stiffening up again.

"Me too," Quinn admitted. Having noticed Kurt's stiff movements and remembering how she had felt following some of Coach Sylvester's killer practices the year before, she got up and moved to sit behind Kurt.

"What are you doing?" Kurt asked, turning his head to look at Quinn despite his protesting muscles.

"Relax," the former cheerleader told him, as she placed her hands on his shoulders and started massaging Kurt's shoulders. "We can't have the Cheerios' secret weapon too stiff to perform tomorrow."

"Ahhh that feels good," Kurt said a few minutes later, facing forward again.

Quinn smiled. She was surprised to find herself feeling completely at ease here with Kurt. She felt like she could just be herself instead of whoever she was expected to be.

A knock on the door startled them both. Getting over his surprise, Kurt got to his feet and headed slowly toward the door.

"I wonder who that could be?" Kurt wondered out loud as he headed for the door.

"You didn't tell anyone I was coming did you?" Quinn asked, thinking that if he did perhaps Santana or Brittany was stopping by to see her.

"No. We agreed we wouldn't," Kurt replied. Reaching the door he looked through the peep hole and got the shock of his life. The last person he would have expected to show up was standing out in the hallway. "It's my dad," he hissed as he glanced back at Quinn.

~_We are so busted_, ~ Kurt thought.

"Should I hide?" Quinn asked, getting to her feet.

Kurt quickly considered the suggestion and dismissed it just as quick. There was nowhere for Quinn to really hide except for the bathroom and that would still leave him having to explain who was in the bathroom. Besides, he knew his dad. They would be in less trouble now then if they tried to hide it and got busted later. He shook his head at his companion. "We might as well just face the music," Kurt said, turning back to the door.

Kurt took a deep breath, and let it out as he opened the door. "Hi, Dad. I didn't expect to see you here," he greeted his father cheerily, noticing that Carole was standing just behind his Dad.

"I wanted to surprise you. Carole, Finn and I came to cheer you on tomorrow," Burt replied.

"Really? That's great!" Kurt exclaimed, still standing in the doorway instead of inviting Burt and Carole into the room.

"Is someone here with you?" Burt asked, looking over Kurt's shoulder suspiciously. "I thought I heard voices."

Kurt thought briefly about saying it was the TV but quickly changed his mind. With a resigned sigh he stepped aside, waving the two adults into the room. "Quinn's here," he admitted.

"Hi Mr. Hummel. Mrs. Hudson," Quinn greeted quietly, having gotten to her feet as the two adults entered the room.

Burt nodded at the pregnant teen's greeting, having never met her before. He did remember seeing her in New Directions when he had gone to Sectionals and he recognized the name Quinn as the cheerleader that Carole had said that Finn had dated. The one who had at first claimed Finn had gotten her pregnant.

"Hi Quinn," Carole said, returning the greeting but not saying anything else.

"Did you come to the competition with the cheerleaders?" Burt asked, willing to give the teens the benefit of the doubt, though his parent instincts told him that wasn't the case.

Quinn glanced at Kurt, obviously looking to him for guidance about how to answer the question. His suspicion growing, Burt let his gaze drift from the former cheerleader to Kurt also.

"No, Quinn isn't here with the cheerleaders, Dad," Kurt replied. "She came here on her own and was going to stay here in the room with me as she can't afford to pay for a room on her own."

Burt nodded slowly, his son's admission confirming his suspicions. "Is this why you wanted your own room for the competition? Did you already have this planned?"

"No!" Kurt said quickly. "I really didn't feel comfortable rooming with any of the guys on the squad and I doubt they would have wanted to room with me anyway. I overheard Quinn Thursday telling Santana and Brittany that she wished she could come see the competition and as I had the room to myself I didn't see what the harm would be letting her stay with me for one night."

"So this was all your idea?"

"Yes."

Burt turned his attention back to Quinn. "And your parents think you're where?" he asked the pregnant teen.

"My parents don't really care where I'm at, Mr. Hummel. They kicked me out when they found out I was pregnant. I was staying with Puck's family but Mercedes offered to let me stay with them. I was supposed to move into Mercedes' house tomorrow but I told them I wanted to wait until Sunday and told Mrs. Puckerman that I was going to their house early."

"So no adult actually knows where you are?" Burt asked.

"Not really," Quinn admitted, taking a small step backwards, as Carole placed a calming hand on Burt's arm.

Burt turned his attention back to his son. "And you thought this was a good idea?" he asked, his voice rising in response to his son's poor judgment. "What if something happened to her on the way here? What if she went into labor early?"

"He was just trying to be nice to me, Mr. Hummel," Quinn said in a small voice before Kurt could respond to his father's questions.

"I don't care. You're both sixteen and too young to be out on your own without an adult knowing where you are," he told them, his gaze shifting between the two of them as he spoke.

"Are you going to make me leave?" Quinn asked in a small voice.

Burt sighed. He knew if he did that he would feel compelled to drive the teen back to Lima himself to make sure she actually got to whichever house she would choose to go back to. On the other hand, she was already here and he didn't see any harm in her and Kurt rooming together.

"You said you were going to be staying with Lana Jones from now on?"

Quinn nodded.

"Let me call her and discuss the situation with her," Burt told them. "I'll be right back," he said, glancing at Carole as he headed for the door.

"I'm sorry, Kurt. I didn't mean to get you in trouble." Quinn said.

"It was my idea," Kurt said with a shake of his head. "I didn't think Dad would actually show up to a cheerleading competition," he said, walking over and sitting down on the bed. Reaching up, he took Quinn's hand and gave it a gentle tug, coaxing her to sit down on the bed beside him.

"Your Dad wanted to show his support. You know he's proud of you, Kurt, no matter what you choose to do," Carole told him.

"I'm sure he isn't too proud of me right now," Kurt replied, gazing at the door his father had disappeared through.

"He's just concerned about both of you. It'll be okay," Carole assured him. "Are you okay, sweetie?" she asked, looking at Quinn who was visibly upset and was gently rubbing her swollen belly. Her motherly instinct was kicking in and she was concerned for the pregnant teen's health.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Quinn said, as there was a knock on the door.

Carole crossed over to the door and let Burt back into the room.

"Okay, here's the deal," Burt said looking directly at the two teens. "Quinn can stay here for the competition with the contingency that when you leave this hotel room you're either with me or Carole or one of us know where you are, the whole time. Sunday morning I'll drive you over to the Jones' home. Are we agreed?"

"Yes, sir. And thank-you," Quinn replied, relieved that she was getting to stay to see the competition instead of being sent home to Lima.

"As for you, young man," Burt said, leveling his gaze at Kurt. "You and I will be discussing this when you get home on Sunday."

"Yes, sir," Kurt replied, having a feeling that some sort of grounding was in his near future.

"So, are you two kids hungry?" Burt asked, his voice softening some. "I saw a Chinese place nearby on our way over from our hotel. I'll go pick you two up something if you want."

"That sounds great. Thank-you, Mr. Hummel." Quinn replied.

"Kurt?"

"Yeah, thanks Dad."

After making a list of what the two teens wanted to eat, both Burt and Carole left the room together.

"Your Dad is pretty cool," Quinn commented, when they were alone. "He took that much calmer than my parents would have."

Kurt gave a little laugh. "Yeah, well be lucky you don't have to be around come Sunday when I get home. I imagine the lecture will last around an hour or so."

"Lectures I could deal with," Quinn replied. "Somehow no matter how big of a mistake you made, I can't see your father kicking you out of the house," she said sadly.

Kurt thought about his recent argument with Finn and how protective his dad had been of him in that instance. The fact that his father had accepted him being gay even if he was uncomfortable with the whole idea. The way that his Dad always explained his reasoning behind a punishment instead of just handing the punishment out.

"Yeah, I guess my Dad is pretty decent," Kurt agreed, looking over at Quinn. He couldn't keep the sympathy he felt for her from showing.

'"Oh, no you don't. Don't go feeling sorry for me, Kurt Hummel. Maybe I don't have the ideal home life but I'm lucky on other accounts. Mrs. Hudson was willing to let me stay with them when they thought the baby was Finn's and even when the truth came out, she didn't ask me to leave. That was my idea. And now Mercedes convinced her mom to let me stay with them. I'm blessed with the friends I have. Even you risked getting in trouble so that I could see this competition, despite the fact that I've never really have been that nice to you."

"I know what it's like to need a friend," Kurt replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

Quinn just smiled, even as she got up and retrieved the remote. When Burt got back with the food, they had found another movie and were both sitting on Kurt's bed, backs against the head board.

"Don't stay up too late," Burt told them as he left the room a final time.

The gymnasium that the competition was being held in was packed with spectators, athletes and the media. Squad after squad of cheerleaders from both middle schools and high schools around the nation took to the mat for their moment of glory. The Cheerios weren't scheduled to take the floor until late afternoon and Burt, Carole, Finn and Quinn had been in the stands since after getting something for lunch at one of the packed nearby restaurants. Finn was actually surprised to find he found the competition entertaining, though even he had to admit that the fit girls in short skirts were definitely a nice perk.

With two more teams to perform before the Cheerios took the mat, Burt offered to get everyone a drink. Carole decided to go with him, leaving Quinn and Finn in the stands alone. Movement beside him caused him to look to his right to find that Quinn, who had sat on the opposite side of his mom and Burt from him in an effort to avoid him, was now sitting next to him. Finn offered her a smile, unsure of what, if anything he should say.

Finn turned his gaze back to the squad currently performing and tried to pay attention, though he was very aware of his ex-girlfriend sitting beside him. As the music ended, Finn joined with the rest of the crowd in giving the cheerleaders a round of applause.

"Why didn't you ever come to any of my competitions?" Quinn asked. The tone of her voice wasn't accusatory just curious.

"Because I was afraid of what the other guys on the football team would call me if I did," Finn admitted, seeing no reason to lie to her.

"And now?" Quinn asked, as the next squad made its way onto the floor.

Finn shrugged. "After all the crap I've taken this year, even from you at the beginning, I guess I figure I can handle anything they through my way. And, I sort of want to show my support of my mom's relationship with Burt. The whole living together thing didn't work out too well, and mom's convinced that spending time together as a group is the only way to remedy that."

"So you think they'll try moving in together again?"

"Probably. I mean they made it through Burt kicking me out of the house and are still together so I'd say they've got a good chance of making it."

"How do you feel about that?" Quinn asked.

The routine had already begun and Finn finally took his eyes from it to look over at Quinn. "What's with all these questions all of a sudden?"

Quinn met his gaze, a sad but peaceful expression on her face. "I guess I've just been doing a lot of thinking about families lately," the blonde told him, her hand absently rubbing her swollen belly. Her comment to Kurt the night before about how she considered herself lucky despite her parents not being there for her came back to her. "Or perhaps familial units might be a better term. Family really is what you make of it, so I guess I was just wondering if you're open a new family or you want to hold on to what you have."

"I'm not really sure," Finn told her. "I mean I think Kurt's a nice guy, and Burt's been really good to me but I guess I'm not ready to give up what my mom and I have. I mean, it's worked for as long as I can remember. But change seems to be inevitable. I mean, look at us, neither one of us are the same person we were at the beginning of the year. I'm at a cheer leading competition and you're soon going to be a mother."

"And we're both in Glee," Quinn added. "I never thought I would ever say that, but now I can't imagine not being a part of the group. You all have supported me when even my parents turned their backs on me."

Finn didn't know what to say to that or even if Quinn wanted him to say anything so he glanced back down at the squad performing. Though their journey this year had been different, Finn understood her feelings about Glee club. Being a part of the group this past year had helped him find out who he really was, and made him friendships that he never would have sought out otherwise but in ways were stronger than the ones he had before.

"Can we be friends?" Quinn asked, bringing Finn out of his thoughts.

"What?" Finn asked, looking back at her.

"I know what I did was hurtful, and I wouldn't blame you if you hated me forever because of it, but I do like you, Finn. I couldn't imagine not having you in my life, and I'd like us to be friends."

"I'd like that too," Finn told, surprised that he really meant it and wasn't just trying to be nice.

Quinn smiled at him as Burt and Carole returned. As Quinn started to move out of the seat Carole had been in before, the older woman told her to stay where she was, and sat down next to her. On the other side of Carole, Burt sat in the seat that had been Quinn's.

"We didn't miss them, did we?" Burt asked, as he started passing out the drinks from the carrier he was holding.

"No. The Cheerios are next," Finn told him, raising his voice over the applause that had broken out for the current squad.

"Good. After sitting through all these other routines it would really suck to miss the one I came to see," Burt replied, his voice revealing to the others that he hadn't really been enjoying himself.

Drinks in hand, the four settled back to watch the Cheerios performance. For the first time all afternoon, Burt actually showed interest in the performance.

"He's actually good, isn't he?"Finn commented about a minute into the performance. The teen was mostly thinking out loud and didn't really expect an answer and so was surprised when Quinn did.

"He is," the former cheerleaders confirmed. "Who would have thought the shy, quiet, geek could play football and make it on Coach Sylvester's cheerleading squad. Not to mention he has a heart of gold," she added, her eyes never leaving the performance down below. Part of her wanted to be down on the floor with them and she was determined that next year she would be.


End file.
